The Jaguar C-X75 deserved to be more than a prototype

Sometimes a brief drive of a test mule is the only taste you'll ever get of a new machine The difference between a concept car and a prototype is huge. It’s the difference between a piece of motor show eye candy and a viable proposition that has been made convincing enough to actually prove said concept. This is the continuation of a thread I started recently, explaining the peculiarities, pressures and, often, disappointments that are associated with test drives in concept cars. When you drive a concept car, you feel like a significant chunk of the story you write is about the art of the imagined. If this thing comes to be, just what might it be like? Such a car could supply perhaps 30-40% of that picture – or just 4%. But a prototype might get 90% of the way there. There’s a greater sense of occasion to driving a prototype; manufacturers usually only allow it when they’re building up to introducing something really important. At this stage, a whole lot more has already been invested and more still is on the line. You might be driving one of only two or three very valuable examples of something currently in existence. Sometimes, the full significance of what you’re doing isn’t apparent at the time. Back in the autumn of 2006, I went to Hethel, Norfolk, to ride in, rather than drive, a prototype of something called a Tesla. The Roadster was, of course, a stretched Lotus Elise with so many laptop batteries where the four-cylinder engine would otherwise have been. I remember still how uncannily responsive and linear the performance felt – and that was while the car still had a two-speed automatic gearbox, so it tended to shift at about 60mph in a way that was noticeable enough to, well, lunch gearboxes, it would later turn out. Did it feel like the start of something that would change the car industry? Not entirely. But it was clearly a more credible product than anyone with whom I spoke about it at the time was ready to believe. I wouldn’t have known that much from a show car. There are prototype drives, by contrast, when you know precisely what strategic significance you’re dealing with. Little can give you a better idea of that than turning up at the gates of a brand-new factory built to manufacture the car you’re about to sample, a model that is being hailed as the saviour of its long-ailing creator. That’s how I first sampled an Aston Martin DBX: with a car load of engineers along for the ride through the Welsh mountains. (“What do you think, Matt?” No pressure, there, then…) And, just occasionally, you know that a test drive in a prototype is all you’re ever going to get. That is exactly how it was with Jaguar’s great aborted hybrid hypercar, the C-X75, when we managed a handful of laps of JLR’s Gaydon high-speed and handling circuits in 2013. This was the time of the hypercar ‘holy trinity’. Jaguar had been bold enough to invest big and, with the help of Williams Advanced Engineering, take its particular vision for such a car all the way through to a highly polished place. But, rather crushingly, it had also already decided not to build it. That competitors from Porsche, Ferrari and McLaren were all coming to market at the same time was too great a risk. Above all, JLR couldn’t afford another XJ220. The car certainly didn’t deserve description in those terms. I never drove a LaFerrari, but I have driven both a McLaren P1 and a Porsche 918 Spyder, and honestly, the C-X75 was right up there. It had bucketloads of star quality; its chassis and steering were outstanding; and its 1.6-litre, 10,000rpm twin-charged four-cylinder combustion engine topped the lot. It was like some mutant superbike motor backed by epic electric torque fill. It was monumental. The C-X75 might well be the greatest performance car that the British industry never made. And being in the position to learn that – however bittersweet it may feel on reflection – is why you don’t turn down drives in prototypes.

Comments

automobile news

New-look 2025 Honda Civic revealed as orders open at £34k

Autocar

Comments

automobile news

New-look 2025 Honda Civic revealed as orders open at £34k

The new electric cars coming in 2025

Used Jaguar XF 2015-2024 review

Toyota MR2: roof down, mid-engine fun for £3000

Hyundai is betting big on Genesis with dealer model move

MG S5 EV

JLR CEO Adrian Mardell retires after 35 years at the firm

I spent £4k on a Fiat Panda 100HP – but it ended in disaster

Car 'cannibalism' surges as parts thieves cash in

Chinese disruptors set sights on UK pick-up market

Subaru plotting electric BRZ to bring sports coupe back to Europe

First look: Skoda previews electric Octavia estate concept

New cars 2025: your handy guide to the cars arriving this year

Maserati Quattroporte hybrid on cards as firm eyes PHEV line-up

DS open to creating performance models to widen appeal

Fiat 500e

Hyundai Ioniq 2: First look at Renault 4 rival before September debut

WATCH: Lotus Evija review | Our fastest ever road test | 0-217mph in under 1km!

Are things about to go from bad to worse for Tesla?

Nissan Ariya Nismo

My Week In Cars: New Steve Cropley/Matt Prior podcast (ep.151)

Zoopla to show each home's proximity to electric vehicle chargers

Autocar’s fastest-accelerating Road Test cars

Lotus Evija vs the Autocar road test: 0-200mph in 13.0sec

UK PHEVs set to avoid Europe-wide CO2 rises in bid to keep appeal

Electric Maserati MCPura could still happen - if customers want it

The dangers threatening to unravel JLR’s magical turnaround

Suzuki Swift

BMW, VW, Merc and more: Munich motor show's biggest reveals

BMW M3 CS

Meet the UK's newest and most inclusive car show

This Skoda oracle owns 70 of them

Entries open for Autocar Drivers of Change: New Talent awards 2025

"This 80bhp Volkswagen Baja Bug is a restomod done right"

Cadillac confirms imminent launch in UK with Lyriq SUV

Meet the man with 70 Skodas

Up to £10k off EVs as makers slash prices to beat new grant

Long live the big grille: Why car designs should focus on the face

UK-built Nissan Leaf in "very strong position" for new EV grant

Electric Citroën C5 Aircross undercuts Skoda Enyaq at £34,065

Customisable fleet software key to Renault’s bold van plan

Maserati plots new manual super-GT flagship, twinned with Alfa

Exclusive: Driving the first Caterham Seven powered by Horse

The cars with the best MPG - and their real-world efficiency revealed

"This 80bhp Volkswagen Baja Bug is a resto-mod done right"

Boxster, Focus, Twingo... The best 1990s classics to buy in 2025

Why the Skoda Superb is a 5-star car

Developments in China mean self-driving is closer than ever

New Renault Clio set for Munich show debut ahead of 2026 launch

Mercedes-AMG readying aggressive new GT to take on 911 GT3 RS

The best luxury cars - driven, rated and ranked

Volkswagen Group profits down 29% in first six months of 2025

Observing ADAS from the passenger seat: how annoying is it, really?

Toyota IQ: the brilliantly flawed city car that’s now a cult classic

New EV grant pales in comparison to manufacturer discounts

The best family cars – driven, rated and ranked

Tesla announces cheaper Model Y to combat sales and revenue dive

Iconic British car brand to begin ‘new era’ with ‘urban SUV’ to be launched next year – and includes bold new logo

Second-hand vans: Get your next used van from Sun Motors, with Fords starting from JUST £124 per month

Everyday £2 essential you should NEVER store in your car in 33C heat as Brits warned of explosion risk