Monday 15th January 2007

Next-gen Jaguar wins award

C-XF signposts new design direction

---

Jaguar C-XF

Jaguar's star entrant at the Detroit auto show last week was not only the most talked-about car there, it also won an award.

US magazine AutoWeek announced that its Editors’ Choice Award for Best in Show 2007 was being awarded to Jaguar for its new C-XF concept car -- the machine on whose broad shoulders rests the company's future, as it bids to shake off the fusty image engendered by the X-type and S-Type retro-mobiles.

"The Jaguar C-XF is the sexiest four-door we’ve seen from Jaguar in years," said Dutch Mandel, editor and associate publisher, AutoWeek. "This car draws a line from Jaguar sedans of the past to Jaguar sedans of the future."

When selecting the winning vehicle for Best in Show, the editorial team looked for the most significant, influential car – the one to remember 10 years down the road.

"With the C-XF, we wanted to create something with strength and a distinctive modern style that will carry Jaguar into the future – something with longevity," said Jaguar's design chief Ian Callum. "Ultimately, AutoWeek’s recognition of this tells us we’ve accomplished our goal."

The all-new Jaguar C-XF concept car, a four-door saloon that blends dynamic, modern features with classic heritage cues, made its debut on 7 January at the show. It houses the same 4.2-litre supercharged engine as the XK, and is a clear indication of the design direction for the company’s design future.

"I am truly delighted for Ian and his team that all their hard work and creativity has been honoured," said Jaguar boss Bibiana Boerio. "While the C-XF is not a production vehicle, it is a true representation of our future design direction. This is just the beginning."

[MarkoTVR]

Jaguar said:

While the C-XF is not a production vehicle....

Why not make it one, then? Clearly it's a popular design, so make it like it is and don't soften it into (another) bland offering. If this is 'just the beginning', then surely a good start would be in order?!

[scotty_917]

Let's hope they make it?

Credit however for creating this luxury saloon coupe segment must go to Mercedes with their CLS...we're now seeing similar ideas from a 4-door Aston Martin, Porsche Panamera and now Jaguar!!!

[andyinpembs]

scotty_917 said:

Let's hope they make it?

Credit however for creating this luxury saloon coupe segment must go to Mercedes with their CLS...we're now seeing similar ideas from a 4-door Aston Martin, Porsche Panamera and now Jaguar!!!

...and Alfa for coming up with the idea of hiding the rear door handles

[Al 450]

andyinpembs said:

scotty_917 said:

Let's hope they make it?

Credit however for creating this luxury saloon coupe segment must go to Mercedes with their CLS...we're now seeing similar ideas from a 4-door Aston Martin, Porsche Panamera and now Jaguar!!!

...and Alfa for coming up with the idea of hiding the rear door handles

Except a four door isn't a coupe....

[andyinpembs]

Al 450 said:

andyinpembs said:

scotty_917 said:

Let's hope they make it?

Credit however for creating this luxury saloon coupe segment must go to Mercedes with their CLS...we're now seeing similar ideas from a 4-door Aston Martin, Porsche Panamera and now Jaguar!!!

...and Alfa for coming up with the idea of hiding the rear door handles

Except a four door isn't a coupe....

Quite. Couldn't agree more. Lets not get started on that one!

[wab172uk]

Typical Jaguar.

Design a good looking car that people would actually go out and buy, then don't make it. Instead they build cars that designs hark back to the "Good old days".

No young professional is going to, or has every lusted after an "X type" or "S type".

The new XK is a step forward for Jaguar design. Lets just hope they now don't take 2 steps backwards with future cars

Edited by wab172uk on Monday 15th January 12:49

[golemgrey]

I'm sorry, but I have to get this off my chest. Saloon coupe's? How stupid a class designation do you want? Really? It's a sports saloon. Sorry, but the CLS is a sports saloon. Has 4 doors, has engine that can smoke up better than a rastafarian at a hydroponics convention and suspension and tyres that make most sports cars feel lame. Sports Saloon. It is not uber cramped back there. Is not remotely lightweight. Does not look like a coupe. Looks swish, but doesn't look like a proper coupe. Monaro: Coupe. Tiburon: Coupe. CLS: Saloon. The CLS is possibly the only Merc I would want to own actually. SLK AMG the only other. But not a coupe.

RX8 not a coupe. Sports car, yes. Coupe no. In isolation, you might think it could. But when I look at an RX8, an RX7 and 350Z close together, it stands out a bit.

Haaa.... Ok, breathing again. Off soapbox. Face regaining non red hue.

[fatboy b]

scotty_917 said:

Let's hope they make it?

Credit however for creating this luxury saloon coupe segment must go to Mercedes with their CLS...we're now seeing similar ideas from a 4-door Aston Martin, Porsche Panamera and now Jaguar!!!

But you can hardly call the Merc offering stunning (or any Merc really) - as in the case of the Jag. In fact the Merc looks more like a banana. And you could argue that the Jag R coupe preceeded Merc with this kind of styling, albeit in 2-door form.

[lightningghost]

What the hell? Why has this won an award? It's nothing ground-breaking. It's got a stubby nose and it's not particularly pretty. There is nothing original about that car. I thought awards were meant to be given to designs which covered new ground.


Guess I'm alone on this one.

[a8hex]

andyinpembs said:

scotty_917 said:

Let's hope they make it?

Credit however for creating this luxury saloon coupe segment must go to Mercedes with their CLS...we're now seeing similar ideas from a 4-door Aston Martin, Porsche Panamera and now Jaguar!!!

...and Alfa for coming up with the idea of hiding the rear door handles

The XJ prior to the latest iteration was always more of a 4 door coupe.

[andyinpembs]

Do these changing naming conventions mean if a car has a sunroof you can call it a convertible?

[beasto]

lightningghost said:

What the hell? Why has this won an award? It's nothing ground-breaking. It's got a stubby nose and it's not particularly pretty. There is nothing original about that car. I thought awards were meant to be given to designs which covered new ground.


Guess I'm alone on this one.

I agree it's not especially pretty, but it does have cojones, which is what a Jag needs (I'm assuming Jags are males here).

Question is: will jag build this or another blandmobile. I'm not betting either way, simply x-fingers.

[sprinter885]

Trouble with putting C-XF into production is how much would they end up interfering with the target audience for the up-coming XF which I understood to be the real replacement for the S Type? Do the 2 vehicles not share similar characteristics? I'm now a bit baffled why Jaguar has done the C-XF with the XF being on the cards.

[hendry]

lightningghost said:

What the hell? Why has this won an award? It's nothing ground-breaking. It's got a stubby nose and it's not particularly pretty. There is nothing original about that car. I thought awards were meant to be given to designs which covered new ground.


Guess I'm alone on this one.

It won Best in Show. Something had too. And the competition at the Detroit Show was only ever going to be retro muscle cars, pick-ups and US-style walk-in fridges on 21 inch rims. The XF winning sounds like a "no brainer" to me.

[pddmac]

blah...blah...blah..


seen all this kind of Jaguar PR before haven't we? i will believe it when i see it...

[flashygee]

At first,it isnt a bad Concept,for a Volvo!
Thats the prob,i see so many design elements of another Cars-
to much of another Cars,but not many from Jaguar.
Side:5er Series,Aston Martin,Mitsu,Alfa,Audi.
Rear:Alfa,Mitsubishi,Audi,Aston Martin and a little bit Vauxhall (Chromstripe)
Front:Volvo,Audi,Pimped Seat Altea.
Its a Mixconcept.
Not more.

[lightningghost]

hendry said:

lightningghost said:

What the hell? Why has this won an award? It's nothing ground-breaking. It's got a stubby nose and it's not particularly pretty. There is nothing original about that car. I thought awards were meant to be given to designs which covered new ground.


Guess I'm alone on this one.

It won Best in Show. Something had too. And the competition at the Detroit Show was only ever going to be retro muscle cars, pick-ups and US-style walk-in fridges on 21 inch rims. The XF winning sounds like a "no brainer" to me.

Fair enough. Are the other cars from Detroit on PH somewhere?

[glenstafford26]

flashygee said:

At first,it isnt a bad Concept,for a Volvo!
Thats the prob,i see so many design elements of another Cars-
to much of another Cars,but not many from Jaguar.
Side:5er Series,Aston Martin,Mitsu,Alfa,Audi.
Rear:Alfa,Mitsubishi,Audi,Aston Martin and a little bit Vauxhall (Chromstripe)
Front:Volvo,Audi,Pimped Seat Altea.
Its a Mixconcept.
Not more.

I agree, although I think it resembles the new Ford Mondeo a bit too closely!?!

[604]

wab172uk said:

No young professional is going to, or has every lusted after an "X type" or "S type".

I'm not QUITE a young professional yet but back in the day when it came out, the S-type was my dream car... hands down (I was... 16 back then... funny, I know) Id still love an S-type R over almost any other sedan - save for an RR Phantom, a Maser Quattroporte or even a Jag XJR

...but all those cost significantly more

[dr jock]

scotty_917 said:

Let's hope they make it?

Credit however for creating this luxury saloon coupe segment must go to Mercedes with their CLS...we're now seeing similar ideas from a 4-door Aston Martin, Porsche Panamera and now Jaguar!!!

Looks a lot like the Aston Rapide to me - which makes sense as they still share the same designer, non? !