RE: Jaguar unveils new coupe concept

RE: Jaguar unveils new coupe concept

Tuesday 11th January 2005

Jaguar unveils new coupe concept

Includes aluminium body and chassis plus V8 power


Jaguar Cars has revealed a new concept car, the Advanced Lightweight Coupe at the NAIAS motor show in Detroit, USA.

Featuring aluminium accents and leather inside, the 2+2 sports 21-inch wheels, telematics, a paddle-operated gearshift, and aluminium bodywork and chassis. Few details have yet emerged as to performance and other oily bits, nor whether this is destined to be the XK8 replacement.

In terms of of design though, the company reckons that the concept "represents the very essence of Jaguar, its heart and soul. If you want to know what lies ahead for us, what direction we will take – this is Jaguar's answer", according to chairman and CEO Joe Greenwell.

Design

The coupe rides on 21-inch alloy wheels with custom Pirelli tyres while new chrome gills behind the front wheels aid engine cooling and also improve aerodynamic flow to the rear.

The car’s cabin is said to be more spacious and better packaged than previous Jaguar coupes, with impressive headroom and multi-directional sports front seats and individual bucket seats in the rear. The interior is trimmed throughout in a tan leather which has visible stitching on the hides that line the doors and the dashboard.

Aluminium inserts are spread throughout the car to act as jewellery that accentuates the contemporary feel of the cabin. Its focal point is the central dashboard console that houses an advanced Alpine telematics screen which provides user feedback in the form of a ‘pulse’ when you touch the on-screen buttons.

The instrument binnacle has been designed to relate to the shape of the steering wheel and houses a high-resolution screen between its dials that provides the driver with a secondary source of infotainment and satellite-navigation information.

Behind the steering wheel sit the gearshift levers that operate an automatic paddleshift transmission – the first time this technology has appeared on a Jaguar. The paddles are mounted to the wheel itself, rather than the steering column, to ensure that at whatever angle the wheel is held, the driver doesn’t have to take his concentration away from the road. Just the kind of touch you’d expect in what is, first and foremost, a driver’s car.

Engineering

Were it to become a product, the new Jaguar would be the most potent 2+2 the company has ever created. Thanks to a technologically advanced aluminium architecture – which is around 40 percent lighter and 60 percent stiffer than a standard steel body – and V8 powertrain assembly, the car would be capable of reaching 60mph in less than five seconds and a top speed north of 180mph.

Its aluminium chassis similar to that used in the new XJ saloon is constructed using many of the same advanced technologies, and is said to be "lightweight, strong and stiff".

It includes dynamic aids such as computer-controlled active suspension, as well as adaptive cruise control and active restraint technology system – all features that Jaguar already has on its production cars. Like Jaguar’s XJ and S-Type saloons, it also features an adjustable pedal box.

Conclusion

"I firmly believe that Jaguars should appear powerful as well as elegant," said design director Ian Callum. "Look back at the great cars from our past and you will see that they were as muscular and taut as they were subtle and curvaceous. That’s what confident Jaguar design is all about."

Jaguar MD Bibiana Boerio said, "This car takes our coupe design onto another level. It is muscular without being over the top – a naturally honed athlete. Just like its predecessors, we believe the next generation of Jaguars should be different from anything else in the marketplace. We are not trying to copy our rivals because we have our own path to take. We know what that path is and we are showing the way."

"This car is as clear a statement on the strength and confidence of the company as we could possibly make," said Greenwell. "Its design is assertive and pure – a perfect symbol for our 21st century cars – and beneath that beautiful body lies the heart and soul of a true Jaguar sports car."

"The Advanced Lightweight Coupe marks a return to the core values of Jaguar," said Bibiana Boerio, Managing Director, Jaguar Cars. "There is a determination in every department of this company to produce a new range of cars that provides the total Jaguar experience and this car is the first evidence of that determination.

"Aspirational and exclusive, with contemporary design and stunning performance, the Advanced Lightweight Coupe is conceived as a special car for special people. It represents the unique position that Jaguar holds in the market place – and even more it tells the world that we are set to make another bold leap forward. For Jaguar, the future begins now."

Author
Discussion

robest

Original Poster:

2 posts

238 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
Hmm, looks like a cross between an Maserati and an Aston Marton to me...

skid

652 posts

264 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
21" rims???

Uber bling for the US market I think. If these rims centres get any higher the drive train is going to keep having to be raised which will upset C of G?

Spinners next?

Mark

turbo tim

20,453 posts

238 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
mmmmmm...where do I sign?!?

pddmac

142 posts

268 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
looks like any other expensive contempory sports coupe, nothing to get to excited about. humbug!!!

RichardD

3,607 posts

252 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
What a HUUGE frontal overhang...


Note to self - Purchase sports car before they all look this bad...


Disclaimer - I'm not complaining at Jaguar, more the politicians who make the pedestrian safety rules up.

kryten22uk

2,347 posts

238 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
RichardD said:
What a HUUGE frontal overhang...


Note to self - Purchase sports car before they all look this bad...


Disclaimer - I'm not complaining at Jaguar, more the politicians who make the pedestrian safety rules up.


Oh come on, its a front-engined car with a big powerplant. Where else are the wheels going to go? The mid-engined cars are the ones with very little front overhang (Gallardo).

Besides, the E-Type had massive front overhang too, and that type of styling is what Jag is trying to preserve.

PetrolTed

34,443 posts

310 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
I think that's gorgeous!

From the spyshots in Autocar I saw the other week, I'd say this is more prototype than concept.

Lovely!

davetherave1970

2,144 posts

253 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
I like the front but does anyone else thing Ford Cougar when looking at the rear?

Triple7

4,015 posts

244 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
That car although v nice, is looking too American. You're right what an awful overhang.

Still I'll have one

garbrand

10 posts

244 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
Unbelievable. It is a straight Aston Martin rip off, and the designers and marketers drone on about 'core values' and 'unique design' etc. etc.

I cannot believe how stupid they think their customers are, do they think the public won't notice the striking similarity?

Bad one Jaguar, you have shown some beautiful concept cars in the recent past, you did not have to copy Aston Martin - and then pretend you didn't.

lanciachris

3,357 posts

248 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all




Nuff said

cirvy

2,329 posts

270 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
Saw it on the news last night, even my missus said,'thats crap, looks like a mix-up between Aston & Ferrari'. I think its such a shame, wouldnt it be nice to have had a fresh new design to get excited about, poor old Jaguar......

kryten22uk

2,347 posts

238 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
Jaguar didnt "copy" AM. They are the same company and the same designer desgined cars for both companys. So can you blame Callum (the desginer) for making cars in the style which he likes?

Jaguar are doing what AM wont/cant do, in bringing that style of car to the masses, by way of much greater production and a lower basic list price (especially the non "R" version). The AM wont be affected, as it has exclusivity.

Lets not of course forget that AM used the Jaguar F-type platform when creating its DB7 in the early ninety's. So the two companies have been heavily intwined with their developments in recent years.

dinkel

27,164 posts

265 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
kryten22uk said:
So can you blame Callum (the desginer) for making cars in the style which he likes?




Look at Alfa / Seat . . .

The back indeed is Ford-ish. But they will work that out won't they . . .

Saw the older coupe the other day: stunning. And to Jaguar: please take a look at that design again . . .

nightmare

5,228 posts

291 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
pretty...but I cant get remotely excited. I have seen far too many jaguar concepts appear and vanish in the last few years to give a stuff about this if Im honest.

robest

Original Poster:

2 posts

238 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all

<img src="http://maseratinet.com/MCI/coupe4intro.jpg">

800

1,971 posts

243 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
Can't believe all the negative stuff I'm reading, looks fantastic to me! So please its a contemporary design and looks substantially different to the XK (unlike the new XJ missed opportunity). Exterior is great blend of classic-modern, interior is possibly the best this side of a Continental GT. I'll have one tomorrow please, black and tan

thanuk

686 posts

270 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
nightmare said:
pretty...but I cant get remotely excited. I have seen far too many jaguar concepts appear and vanish in the last few years to give a stuff about this if Im honest.


Yes, but this is almost certainly the next XK8 with some added motor show 'bling' to make it a concept.

I expect when it reaches showrooms the ali trim will be wood, the wheels smaller and unchromed and the lights different.

wedgie

444 posts

270 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
can I have a convertible version, please?

jumjum

347 posts

265 months

Tuesday 11th January 2005
quotequote all
Really bad colour.

I too was expecting a cheaper DB9 like car, still worth a look though in a better colour.

Also the concepts got the stering wheel on the wrong side !