Tour de France winner Chris Froome goes faster in a Jaguar C-X75

As winner of this year’s Tour de France, Chris Froome was presented with a brand new F-TYPE by Team Sky partner Jaguar. And when visiting JLR’s Gaydon headquarters this week, he got to experience Jaguar’s still-born C-X75 supercar.. travelling a little faster than he’s used to on his bike.

He was there for a high-performance demonstration of his new car, while taking the opportunity for an impromptu photo shoot riding his Team Sky Pinarello bike alongside the F-TYPE. After his whistle-stop visit, Froome flew off to the USA for the Tour of Colorado.

Jaguar has been a partner to Team Sky since the team’s very first season of racing in 2010, using a fleet of XF Sportbrakes as the team car on events. To mark the occasion, Jaguar’s hybrid supercar was wrapped in Team Sky colours, although perhaps the XF makes the better support vehicle given the narrow perspex window openings on the C-X75.

Jaguar’s C-X75 started out in 2010 as a show car to celebrate 75 years of the Jaguar brand. In May 2011, a handful of engineers from Williams and Jaguar began turning it into a production reality, then in December 2012 the project was cancelled with Jaguar citing “worsening global economic conditions” as the reason.

SEE ALSO: Jaguar’s C-X75 delights, inspires.. and frustrates (w/VIDEO.

Nevertheless, the car was almost finished and Jaguar knew it was a powerful showcase of its expertise in lightweight vehicle construction and high-performance low-emission powertrains. So they completed three prototypes and have started putting them to work during moments such as this.

The 850bhp C-X75 will accelerate from zero to 100mph in less than six seconds and reach a top speed of 220mph. It is powered by a 502bhp 1.6-litre turbocharged and supercharged four-cylinder engine combined with two electric motors which add a further 390bhp.

With peak revs of 10,300 rpm, its 1.6-litre engine has one of the world’s highest specific power outputs, delivering 313bhp per litre.

Froome was the second British rider to win the Yellow Jersey after Sir Bradley Wiggins achieved the same feat in 2012. For the handover ceremony last month, Froome’s F-TYPE was garnished with yellow livery which mimicked that of the Team Sky Jaguar XF Sportbrake.