CALLUM Gives One-Off Bond Car a License to Drive
A rare Jaguar concept car that starred in the 007 movie Spectre has been upgraded and made road-legal by its original designer.
Ian Callum led the team that styled the C-X75, and now his design and engineering consultancy CALLUM has managed to convert the star car to road use.
Jaguar’s experimental supercar was originally shown in 2010 as a collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering and featured a wild gas-turbine hybrid powertrain. Twin turbines generated power for four electric wheel motors delivering almost 800 hp. Then, for a planned production model, Jaguar ditched the complex powertrain for a slightly more conventional hybrid system featuring a 1.6-liter four-cylinder engine that was both turbo and supercharged to more than 500 hp with electric motors chipping in another 350 horses. Jaguar had planned to build 250 examples but the project was canned.
Nonetheless the C-X75 was a mean publicity machine, featuring in a spectacular car chase filmed in the Vatican City for the 2015 Bond movie. Five stunt cars were assembled by Williams, with power provided by Jag’s standard five-liter supercharged V-8, and now one of those is finally hitting the road.
On the engineering side the team at CALLUM had to make “hundreds of changes” in order for the car to be road-legal for a U.K.-based customer. Those included replacing the glass and switchgear, fitting a quieter exhaust and catalytic converters, along with associated engine calibration tuning. Even the side mirrors had to be created from scratch as the stunt cars only had dummy items. The bodywork was tweaked to improve panel fit and the car was given a fresh coat of metallic orange paint, as well as slightly more luxurious interior.
Apparently, four of the five Spectre stunt cars survived filming, so perhaps we could see more CX-75s drive another day.
I remember watching this scene in the movie and wondering, “what in the H-E-double toothpicks is that thing?” It’s a stunningly beautiful car and when something takes my attention away from a Bond Aston, that’s quite an accomplishment!
Loved the concept when it came out. Wish they could have made the gas turbine hybrid viable. Shades of Parnelli Jones 67 Indy 500! Loved the Indy turbine cars first. Note that the Jag looks like it is the same color as the 63 Chrysler Turbine. Coincidence?
It’s a gorgeous car. Personally I think it could have done well with the proper drivetrain.
I also recall when the prototype came out and thought a small turbine driving a generator made more sense than a traditional ICE setup. The turbine would only need to run to charge and would have a lot fewer moveable parts. Anyone have any idea why it was not developed further?
Because …usually gas turbines eat fuel like crazy