“It’s the one that got away,” says Ian Callum, design director at Jaguar from 1999 to 2019. He’s talking about the Jaguar C-X75, which started life as a 2010 Paris Show concept powered by an innovative 778-horsepower series hybrid powertrain that featured diesel-fueled turbine engines generating the electric power for four Yasa high-performance e-motors.
The car was subsequently re-engineered by Williams Advanced Engineering, the specialist research and development operation then owned by the Williams F1 team, with a more potent series hybrid powertrain that comprised two e-motors and a single conventional internal combustion engine as the on-board generator. Then it turned up with a mid-mounted 5.0-liter V-8 in the 2015 James Bond film Spectre.
Jaguar had planned to build 250 of the Williams Advanced Engineering-spec C-X75s, but the project was cancelled at the end of 2012 amid fears their proposed million-dollar price tag would make them a hard sell in an economy still reeling from the 2008 global financial crisis. For Spectre, a total of seven C-X75s were built, their dry-sump supercharged Jaguar V-8 engines cradled in a bespoke space frame.
Callum, the design and engineering shop set up by the former Jaguar design boss, last year reworked one of the film cars, chassis 007, to make it street legal. Now chassis 001 is about to hit the road, the result of a bespoke commission from a wealthy Jaguar enthusiast. The comprehensive re-engineering and refurbishment program has included new engine electronics, the addition of a seven-speed dual clutch transmission, the development of an active aerodynamics system and the creation of a luxurious new interior.
The new interior features a sophisticated blend of dark green and cream tones, split by a line that runs through the cabin at a 40-degree angle, and is finished with dark metal accents. “Sports cars typically feature darker interiors, while comfort is often associated with lighter shades,” explains Callum’s head of design, Aleck Jones. “We wanted to fuse those elements in a dynamic way to reflect the dual nature of this car.”
An acrylic cowl covers the digital instrument cluster. A high center console runs from the top of the dash down between the seats and features rotary controls with integrated touchscreens. All other controls, including the start button, are in a roof-mounted console. There’s also a wireless smartphone charging pad and Apple Car Play connectivity for the premium sound system. The steering wheel has been machined from a solid billet of aluminum to the customer’s exact specifications. The seats are trimmed in bridge of Weir leather.
More than 1,000 hours went into refurbishing the C-X75’s tightly sculpted bodywork, originally styled at Jaguar under Callum’s direction in 2009. Exterior design details include the side window trim machined from solid aluminum, a bespoke gas cap, carbon fibre accents for the quarter light intakes and diffuser, a polished metal surround on the grille, and a C-X75 emblem etched onto the exhaust tailpipes.
Remarkably, for a man who has designed some of the world’s most beautiful sports cars, the C-X75 is only Ian Callum’s third mid-engine car, “though I’ve done a lot in my head,” he says. The others? The first was the Nissan R390 GT1, two of which were built to satisfy the regulations for the 1997 and 1998 Le Mans 24 Hour races. Then came an early 2000s proposal for a mid-engine Aston Martin that was nixed by then boss Ulrich Bez who insisted a British sports car shouldn’t be mid-engine.
Four of the seven Spectre C-X75s were sold after the film’s completion. 007 franchise owner Eon Productions is believed to still own two of them, and the seventh car is believed to have been destroyed. Jaguar owns four of the C-X75 prototypes built by Williams Advanced Engineering, the last of which was said to be making 900 hp, but for liability reasons, these will almost certainly never be sold.
That makes this road-going C-X75, which the owner plans to be driving around London within a few weeks, one of the rarest Ian Callum cars on the planet. “We designed it 15 years ago, and I think it’s held up pretty well,” he says, noting that its influence can be seen in elements of the F-Type sports car, the preliminary design work of which was begun when the C-X75 made its global debut in Paris. “It’s nice to see it out there.”