Jag unveils sports car concept 17 | 08 | 2011

JAGUAR HAS ISSUED this teaser sketch of its C-X16 ‘production concept’ car. The long-awaited concept will be officially unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show next month.

Jaguar insiders acknowledge the car is “a precursor to future Jaguar sports cars that will aim to set new class benchmarks in design, vehicle dynamics and technology”.

Jaguar's Scots design boss Ian Callum, the man behind the most recent generation of Jaguars, including the XF, XJ and XK, said: "Great Jaguars have always been beautiful, innovative and have looked firmly to the future. The finished C-X16 concept has the potential to do these things while retaining the ability to surprise, to excite, to invigorate.”

Not surprisingly, given the ultra-secret world in which designers work, Jaguar has said very little about the production version of the C-X16. It's believed though that it's based on a shortened version of the next-generation aluminium XK platform.

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Expected to be sold as a strict two-seater in both roadster and coupé forms — with prices expected around £50,000 — the C-X16 will be nearly 300mm shorter than the XK, though it will retain the car's width.

It's also expected the front-end styling will house an upright headlamp graphic, four-sided grille and vertical air intake design which mirrors the design language that appeared on the C-X75 supercar.

When it does hit the streets — it's expected in Jaguar's Scottish showrooms at the end of next year — the C-X16 will be powered by a new-generation of V6 petrol engines, which will come in both normally aspirated and supercharged versions.

Some time after the initial launch, there remains the possibility of a V8 version; a diesel-powered model is also not being ruled out.

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Jim McGill