The Jaguar C-X75 Has Got the Energy

Be careful next time you say that new luxury cars aren’t environmentally sensible. Sure, a lot of luxury vehicles have gas mileage in the single digits, but the upcoming Jaguar C-X75 is as green as you can get: it’s electric.

Called by car aficionados the Electric Supercar, the Jaguar C-X75 works like the Chevy Volt and Nissan Leaf: running on electricity that gets recharged by a gasoline engine. The first model, which premiered at the Paris Motor Show in 2010, wowed the crowds by using twin micro-jet engines for this recharge task. A separate electric motor powered each wheel, and while they only run for about thirty miles before needing another boost in gasoline power, together they generate around 800 horsepower and can rocket the car from 0-60 in under three seconds. The Volt and Leaf are innovative, but neither one has a top speed of 200 mph like Jaguar’s addition.

Unfortunately, for those excited about the micro-jet engines, Jaguar has announced its commercial model of the C-X75 will use different technology, but those may return as optional upgrades in the future. For green-minded individuals who also have a guilty pleasure for luxury cars, this news sounds like a dream come true. They just need to wait a couple more years: the C-X75 won’t enter the market till 2013. That may seem like too long a wait, but potential buyers should start saving now. Jaguar plans to only make 250 initially, and the lowest projected cost for each is $1.1 million.