"O
ne thing should be abundantly clear whenever people are discussing Jaguar design," asserts Director of Design Ian Callum. "Jaguars should be seen as modern cars and in the future people will appreciate them for that."
The C-XF is a confident statement of design purity and efficiency. It possesses a sense of latent power that conveys dynamism and movement even when the car is stationary. But the design language of C-XF is about more than just performance and power - it also succeeds in blending many of Jaguar's unique heritage styling cues with bold, contemporary features, signalling how Jaguars will evolve as new generations of sports saloons go into production.
"Throughout its history Jaguar has created some of the most striking, modern and beautiful sports saloons imaginable and our objective with C-XF was to recognise those principle design disciplines," explains Ian Callum. "The values that I see in Jaguar aesthetics include purity, dynamism, latent power, balance and modernity."
C-XF has a taut beauty, but it is also a car that will challenge people's preconceptions about Jaguar; it has an edginess that exudes a sense of underlying menace.
At the rear of the C-XF a very sculptured shoulder flows from the C-pillar into a tight, aggressively tapered tail that clearly displays traditional Jaguar design cues yet succeeds in striking an incredibly modern feel. When seen from behind, is noticeably wide and powerful, a look accentuated by the large rear diffuser. The basic principle of diffuser technology sees air being drawn from beneath the car to create a low pressure area that improves cornering grip at higher speeds.
ne thing should be abundantly clear whenever people are discussing Jaguar design," asserts Director of Design Ian Callum. "Jaguars should be seen as modern cars and in the future people will appreciate them for that."
The C-XF is a confident statement of design purity and efficiency. It possesses a sense of latent power that conveys dynamism and movement even when the car is stationary. But the design language of C-XF is about more than just performance and power - it also succeeds in blending many of Jaguar's unique heritage styling cues with bold, contemporary features, signalling how Jaguars will evolve as new generations of sports saloons go into production.
"Throughout its history Jaguar has created some of the most striking, modern and beautiful sports saloons imaginable and our objective with C-XF was to recognise those principle design disciplines," explains Ian Callum. "The values that I see in Jaguar aesthetics include purity, dynamism, latent power, balance and modernity."Those Jaguar values are instantly recognisable in earlier iconic models. Founder Sir William Lyons demanded the same aesthetic correctness and every one of his legendary designs proved his skill in creating some of the most beautiful cars of all time.
The C-XF's design team took inspiration from some of Lyons' greatest cars, including the 1950 Mark VII and 1959 Mark 2 saloons. Their beautiful flowing lines were influenced by some of the great sporting Jaguars of the era including the XK120 and both display that extraordinary feeling of latent power that so signifies a Jaguar.
Ensuring that C-XF, while still a saloon, possessed the sporting profile expected of every Jaguar required maximum design efficiency - the whole exterior 'skin' had to be as tight as possible to the body architecture. This focussed the Jaguar design team on creating a car that Ian Callum describes as "the absolute definition of athleticism", a performance-oriented sports saloon that is still inherently practical and capable of carrying four people in total comfort.
C-XF has a taut beauty, but it is also a car that will challenge people's preconceptions about Jaguar; it has an edginess that exudes a sense of underlying menace."Jaguars should be perceived as cool cars," says Ian Callum, "and cool cars attract interesting, edgy people. The next generations of Jaguars will do just that."
EXTERIOR STYLING
Set into the front of the C-XF is a bold and aggressive grille finished in black chrome. Recessed deeply into the body rather than sitting flush with the surface, the visual effect is similar to that of an air intake on a jet engine and serves as a reminder that directly behind is a sophisticated and powerful 4.2-litre supercharged V8 engine.
"Jaguars need a distinctive grille, a face," says Ian Callum. "It's the classic 'car in the rear-view mirror' look, with everything powering rearwards from the grille. The C-XF is a perfect example of how to execute this successfully." The headlamps which evolve the twin-lamp motif seen on previous Jaguars into a single slim wedge, are narrow and angular. They bring an air of aggression to the C-XF's profile, while between the lamps a blue streak of light reveals an almost cat-like iris when illuminated. Subtly etched below the lenses is a unique 'tattoo' design showing an abstract Jaguar leaper logo - a tattoo that is repeated in the treadplates of the door sills and in the tread of the bespoke Pirelli tyres that surround the 21-inch machined, polished aluminium wheels.
Running backwards from the nose of the C-XF is the main feature line of the car - an unbroken shoulder that flows beneath the cabin glassline and into the haunch over the rear wheel. It is this feature, a modern interpretation of renowned Jaguar sports saloons from history, that endows C-XF with its latent power. A similarly simple line can also be seen on the new XK range and is one of the design cues that will carry forward onto the next generation of Jaguars.
Above the shoulder line sits a low and sporting cabin with aluminium brightwork highlighting the coupe feel of the car. Further sporting lines are accentuated by the muscular bonnet and the side power vents that have a functional white ceramic finish.
At the rear of the C-XF a very sculptured shoulder flows from the C-pillar into a tight, aggressively tapered tail that clearly displays traditional Jaguar design cues yet succeeds in striking an incredibly modern feel. When seen from behind, is noticeably wide and powerful, a look accentuated by the large rear diffuser. The basic principle of diffuser technology sees air being drawn from beneath the car to create a low pressure area that improves cornering grip at higher speeds.The C-XF's colour palette is deliberately monochromatic, mixing a one-off exterior paint - Metashine silver - with areas of brightwork in either chrome or aluminium finishes. Additionally, white ceramic is used to indicate areas of dynamic air flow or heat exchange - in this case the side power vents and tailpipes.
"The colour choice for the C-XF was very deliberate and is a key part of its overall dynamic," says Head of Advanced Design, Julian Thomson. "We describe the effect as 'tone on tone' - we want people to think about the materials, the textures, and how they interact with the functions of the car."
Thomson continues: "The tonality has a functional aspect but also extreme beauty; mechanical designs that are fit for purpose are often beautifully designed - we've taken our inspiration from machinery as diverse as aircraft to cameras in seeking to make the car look like it was milled from a solid piece of metal."
INTERIOR DESIGN
Design Director Ian Callum describes the cabin of the C-XF concept car as "one of the most exciting interiors Jaguar has ever done". One glimpse of the inside of the four-seater is enough to understand why Callum has this view.
The emphasis is on tailored performance rather than pampered luxury and nowhere is that better demonstrated than in the lightweight, sculpted bucket-style front seats. Trimmed in semi-aniline leather (a specially dyed hide which ensures even colouration yet retains its softness) the seats are sports-styled yet also offer impressive comfort thanks to a deeply padded lumbar area with ventilation cavities. Twin individual bucket seats house the rear-seat passengers.
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