CALLUM C-X75 & SKYE
Peterson Instrument Co. were honoured to be asked to deliver beautiful, analogue instruments for CALLUM’s reimagined Jaguar C-X75 Supercar and the CALLUM SKYE electric multi-terrain vehicle. Since the Jaguar C-X75 was originally designed by Ian Callum for Jaguar in 2010 and the SKYE is a brand new design; when CALLUM asked for analogue gauges, it felt there was a change in the wind.
Digital and Infotainment systems have been gradually evolving since the 90s, with the digital cockpits we see in today’s vehicles being commonplace since around 2010. Back in the day of KITT in Knight Rider and the Back to the Future Delorean, the idea of digital dashboards was cool and exciting. Now everything seems to be in the car’s digital display, and that is literally everything. It’s often extremely convenient, especially with in-built Apple Carplay, Android Auto and GPS, but is there now a limit to our need for digital systems when driving?
Some may say so. With digital dashboards now being the norm in all OEM vehicles, highly crafted analogue instruments are now the very idea of luxury. For example, with unique and one-of-a-kind instruments, Bugatti released the Tourbillon last year “inspired by the timeless elegance of watchmaking craft, the Tourbillon prioritizes an analogue design”.
So, analogue is back.
The Jaguar C-X75 was the iconic supercar driven by the villain in James Bond’s ‘SPECTRE’. It’s affectionately referred to as ‘The One that Got Away’, by CALLUM and this ‘Ultimate Commission’ has now been reimagined from a stunt-car into a luxury street-legal vehicle with a driver-centric, premium environment.
For its interior, the CALLUM team designed instruments that were modern yet classically analogue. With a blend of both Horology and Automotive styles, this was Peterson Instrument Co.’s first project manufacturing gauges with dome-shaped glass. The tight gauge packing requirements and unique lighting design made this a challenging, but enjoyable project.
The instruments are lit by a central billet machined light ring, with rear-lit screen-printed chaplets for striking illumination, while still embodying a classic flood light. The pointers are minimalist and sit flush to the dial face to hide the mounting boss, rather than sitting traditionally proud. The orange-coloured pointers perfectly compliment the dark green auxiliary gauge pointers and the Bridge of Weir leather seen throughout the C-X75 interior.
Some digital information has been added sympathetically between the two analogue dials, by way of a hidden-until-lit (HUL) warning light panel. This conveys all the important warning symbols, along with a digital odometer and trip milage display, which is all perfectly hidden when the C-X75 is turned off.
Peterson Instrument Co.’s CAN bus software has been implemented for accuracy and precision and the pointers sweep in crossing paths upon startup. Pointer dynamics are tuned for each measurement, with a crisp snap-action of the gearchange vs the damped auxiliary gauges.
The overall design can transition across platforms, seen in the CALLUM SKYE concept interior to great effect. The colours and graphics are different for the SKYE, with lighter-coloured bezels and different coloured pointers that match highlights of the interior.
