Jaguar to roll out 200 mph hybrid car for $1.2 mn

LONDON: Jaguar Land Rover, the luxurycar unit of India’s Tata Motors, said it will begin production of the C-X75, an electric supercar priced from 700,000 pounds ($1.2 million) and able to reach 60 miles per hour in three seconds.

“The C-X75 is absolutely at the forefront of technology, it’s as good as you can get right now,” Tata chief executive officer Carl-Peter Forster said on Friday at a press conference in London. “For me it’s also proof that the automobile is not the technology of the last century. It has a future.”

The hybrid model, which combines two electric motors with a gasoline engine, will have a top speed higher than 200 mph and a range of more than 50 kilometers (31 miles) using only electric power, UK-based Jaguar Land Rover said today in a statement.

Jaguar follows Bayerische Motoren Werke, Volkswagen’s Audi and Porsche in announcing plans for electric-powered supercars. Sports carmakers are developing vehicles using alternative forms of energy to lower their overall carbon footprints as governments press them to adopt green technology.

The C-X75, first shown off as a concept car at last year’s Paris Motor Show, will be developed with the British Formula 1 racing team Williams and offer performance on par with the fastest production models currently available, Jaguar brand chief Adrian Hallmark on Friday. — Bloomberg