What’s The Greatest Car That Was Announced, But Never Reached Production?

Yesterday, Lincoln confirmed its Rivian-based electric vehicle wouldn’t be happening due to the “current environment” caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

That’s a sad development as we were potentially robbed of a 754 hp (562 kW / 764 PS) Lincoln, but it’s not the first time a major automaker has announced plans for production and later backtracked.

A little more than a decade ago, the Great Recession caused a number of automakers to rethink their plans. This caused the deaths of a number of upcoming models.

Also Read: 2010 Pontiac G8 Sport Truck Makes New York Auto Show Debut

In 2008, Pontiac introduced the G8 Sport Truck and said the model would arrive at dealerships in late 2009. Essentially a rebadged Holden Ute, the single cab pickup had an aggressive front fascia and a 73.9 inch (1,878 mm) bed with 42.7 cubic feet (1,209 liters) of cargo space.

Power was to be provided by a 6.0-liter V8 engine pumping out 361 hp (270 kW / 367 PS) and 385 lb-ft (522 Nm) of torque. It would be paired to a six-speed automatic transmission which would enable the rear-wheel drive pickup to accelerate from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in just 5.4 seconds.

Of course, fate intervened and GM decided to retire the Pontiac brand in early 2009. As a result, the G8 Sport Truck never made it into showrooms.

While the G8 Sport Truck would have been interesting, the best known victim of the Great Recession was the Jaguar C-X75. Introduced in 2010 to celebrate the company’s 75th anniversary, the concept was an instant hit and Jaguar confirmed plans for production in May 2011.

In order to bring the model to fruition, the company partnered with Williams Advanced Engineering and set to work creating their first car with a carbon composite monocoque chassis. The model was also slated to have all-wheel drive, a plug-in hybrid powertrain and “performance on a par with the fastest production cars on the market.”

The model promised to outshine the XJ220 as it was slated to have a turbocharged and supercharged 1.6-liter four-cylinder that produced 502 hp (374 kW / 509 PS). Electric motors would contribute an additional 390 hp (290 kW / 395 PS) and this would give the car a combined output in excess of 850 hp (634 kW / 862 PS) and 737 lb-ft (1000 Nm) of torque.

Jaguar didn’t release detailed specifications, but confirmed the model would rocket from 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) in less than six seconds and have a “theoretical maximum velocity” of 220 mph (354 km/h). If that wasn’t impressive enough, the C-X75 would have an electric-only range of approximately 37 miles (60 km).

While work was progressing nicely, Jaguar decided to abandon the project in 2012 due to the “global economic climate.” However, a handful of prototypes were built and the car starred in the 2015 James Bond flick Spectre.

Those are just a handful of models that were announced, but ultimately killed before reaching production. There are also countless others, so what’s your favorite?