From the 2010 Paris Auto Show “Jaguar’s C-X75 concept was a surprise to everyone. We all expected the company to display a small sedan to slot in beneath the XF, a model the expanding brand desperately needs.
Jaquar had other plans. Instead, the company pulled the sheet off of this lusty two-seat supercar. Like several other concepts like the Porsche 918, the C-X75 employs electric motors for forward thrust. But in the Jag’s case, there’s a 195 hp motor for each of the four wheels. So this concept has 780 hp on tap. Jaguar claims that the C-X75 can travel 68 miles on the battery pack and when it’s depleted, an innovative gas-powered generator kicks on to supply the juice. Rather than use a conventional piston motor, Jaguar installed a pair of small turbine engines just behind the two fixed seats. These engines can supply 188 hp and can either charge the batteries or send juice to the electric motors.” No word on the price tag… Also from the Paris Auto Show:
JAG Concept Vehicle
Top automakers finally have electric cars ready to purr into dealer showrooms. Now the question is whether the charging infrastructure and electricity supply are up to the task. Industry watchers question if power grids can cope with the influx of electric vehicles, even though EVs (Electric Vehicles) are likely to remain, at least at first, a fraction of the new car market. But as CO2 emissions rules tighten, carmakers need to take action. “We need a radical solution,” Renault and Nissan chief executive Carlos Ghosn said at the Paris Auto Show.
Renault, which with alliance partner Nissan is investing 4 billion euros (US$5.5 billion) in electric cars, strengthened on Friday its EV partnership with French utility. At Renault’s stand displaying the Fluence and Kangoo EVs and the electric Dezir concept car, the partners launched pilot projects on battery management and charging infrastructure. Carlos Ghosn, chief executive of Renault and Nissan, had said on Thursday he now thought his forecast that 10 percent of new car sales by 2020 would be EVs was “conservative”, while many manufacturers and analysts see much smaller demand. Ref: Helen Massy-Beresford & Gilles Guillaume Reuters/ Larry Webster Popular Mechanics