Jaguar C-X75 Concept

It also uses a pair of gas-turbine engines, coupled to electric motors at each wheel, to stretch the potential of the range-extender hybrid concept first developed by General Motors with its new-age Volt.

The result for the C-X75 is a 330km/h top speed, a 0-100km/h sprint time of just 3.5 seconds and - just as importantly - a 110 kilometre range on its lithium-ion batteries and a 900-kilometre distance between refueling.

Everything about the C-X75 is at the edge of current technology and that's just what the car's designer, Ian Callum, wants.

"I'm throwing a stone into the pond. We want to see what sort of ripples it makes and where those ripples take us," Callum tells Carsguide as he prepares to rip the covers off the C-X75.

There are no plans to put the car into production, but the futuristic coupe is a clear vision of the potential at Jaguar under its new Indian owners. It also buries speculation that Jaguar is planning a Paris Show splash as the launchpad for its long-rumoured E-Type project.

"This is not an E-Type. It's not even on our product plan," Callum says. "It's a pure concept car. We want to show what Jaguar can do."

There are all sorts of historic cues and links to the C-X75, which celebrates 75 years of Jaguar design. The most obvious is to the stillborn XJ13, a mid-engined 1960s supercar that Callum describes as "possibly the most beautiful Jaguar ever made".

But the C-X75 is not just about a gorgeous body. It is dripping with technology, from the mid-mounted drivetrain - with twin gas turbines and a 145 kiloWatt electric motor in each wheel - to a lightweight alloy chassis, active aerodynamics, a cab-forward driver location, forward-hinged doors with touch-sensor opening, a fingertip information control, and TFT gauges.

The shocking silver Jaguar throws down a challenge to the other contenders for Car of the Show at Paris 2010, and now it's up to them - led by Ferrari, Lamborghini and Maserati - to respond.