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Jaguar reveals C-X17 Sports Crossover Concept at Frankfurt

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Frankfurt, 10 September 2013: Jaguar’s first ever sports crossover concept vehicle, the C-X17 makes its debut at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. The C-X17 has been created as a design study to introduce Jaguar’s all-new advanced aluminium monocoque architecture, codenamed iQ[Al], on which an exciting range of future Jaguars will be built. This new philosophy underpins the entire innovative future of the Jaguar brand. A modular and scalable vehicle architecture, engineered and developed for Jaguar, the architecture is high-strength, lightweight, extremely stiff and incorporates innovative efficiency technologies. It enables flexible high-volume production while allowing creative design freedom and competitive interior packaging, without compromising the unique character, dynamics, performance and luxury that Jaguar is famous for. This will enable Jaguar to grow its product portfolio, targeting high-growth areas of the premium market.

Jaguar’s first product from the new iQ[Al] architecture will be a new premium C/D segment sedan. Its global rollout will begin in 2015, and it will be the first aluminium monocoque product in the segment.

Power will be provided by engines with a wide range of capacities and output. These will include the high-output petrol and diesel engines to be built at Jaguar Land Rover’s new engine manufacturing facility in the UK, as well as the powerful V6 petrol engine in the F-TYPE, which will provide best-in-class specific power output thanks to the lightweight architecture. These attributes will enable Jaguar to offer a wider variety of vehicles, with exhilarating performance, top speeds of over 300km/h (186mph), as well as emissions below 100g of CO2 per kilometre.

C-X17 DYNAMICS: FLEET-FOOTED AND SURE-FOOTED
As a sports crossover, the C-X17 concept is positioned as a driver’s car. It combines the character and driving experience of a sports car with increased presence, style and flexibility; enhancing the brand’s relevance and appeal to a wider global audience. It is a four-seater sports crossover concept built on the aluminium-intensive architecture, blending sleek lines, sporting design and luxurious sophistication with enhanced flexibility and an assured driving position. In its exciting proportions, purity of form and its beautiful lines, overseen by Director of Design Ian Callum, the C-X17 is every inch a Jaguar.

At 4,718mm long and 1,649mm tall, its dimensions are clearly that of a crossover, yet in its design it shares strong family traits with Jaguar’s current range. A low-sitting stance and overall profile combine with 23-inch alloy wheels to give the C-X17 a sporting, aggressive presence, while the LED headlamps, J-shaped running lights and frosted-glass foglights set into the large front intakes add to the C-X17’s purposeful intent. The C-X17 is painted in a lustrous Caesium Blue finish, with gloss black brightwork surrounding the windows, while the split five-spoke alloys are Dark Atlas graphite with gloss black finishers.

With its 213mm ground clearance and intelligent All-Wheel Drive, the C-X17 could also offer reassuring capability and enhanced grip on poor roads and in varying weather conditions. Jaguar’s intelligent All-Wheel Drive system continuously monitors grip levels and driver inputs and uses feed-forward torque distribution to both pre-empt and react to wheel-slip, providing greater driver confidence and vehicle stability in low-grip conditions. In normal grip conditions, the system predominantly delivers drive to the rear wheels, providing the dynamic driving experience all Jaguars are renowned for.

“We designed the C-X17 from the ground up from a distinct set of principles, a deep sense of what makes a Jaguar: exciting proportions, clean lines, balance of form. Assertive and powerful, yet with a beautiful sensuality about it, the C-X17 is boldly, distinctively Jaguar.” Ian Callum, Design Director, Jaguar.

EXTERIOR DESIGN: BEAUTY OF PROPORTION
With a crossover being a new journey for Jaguar, Director of Design Ian Callum and his team were clear that even as it subscribed to the practicalities expected of the crossover category, the C-X17 had to be stylish, sporty and exciting. It had to instantly stand out from the crowd, yet retain the sense of timeless sophistication that is typically Jaguar.

In terms of form, it is sleek and fast, relying on pure lines rather than exaggeration or showmanship. The long bonnet’s twin ‘power bulges’ and prominent grille impart a muscular look. The grille is an evolution of the distinctive nose of the Jaguar XJ luxury sedan, while the sculptured haunch lines hint strongly of the award-winning design of the Jaguar F-TYPE sports car. The C-X17’s twin ‘heartlines’ are clearly visible when viewed in profile. Two clean and simple design lines, with a subtle crease in the metal to catch the light, visually tie together the C-X17’s shoulder and haunch. The accentuated length of the windows adds to the vehicle’s overall sense of sleekness.

The rear of the vehicle has a distinctive touch of sports car about it, with the haunch, tail lights and detailing all bringing to mind the seductive Jaguar F-TYPE. The C-X17’s roofline swoops quickly rearwards, culminating in a distinctive cantilevered spoiler over a steeply raked rear window that enhances the crossover’s sporting, ‘fast-even-at-standstill’ appearance.

INTERIOR DESIGN: CRAFTSMANSHIP AND TECHNOLOGY
“The C-X17’s design is timeless, yet absolutely up-to-the-minute. Artisan treatment meets modern techniques in an innovative cabin full of luxurious touches and cutting-edge technical ideas.”
Julian Thomson, Director of Advanced Design, Jaguar

The interior of the C-X17 blends high-end interactive technology with premium, traditionally crafted materials, resulting in a spacious, airy, luxurious and sophisticated cabin.

The C-X17 seats four passengers in individual bucket seats. The seating position is relatively low for a crossover, giving the occupants a feeling of sitting deep within the cabin. The seats are lightweight units with a sculpted free-standing appearance, visually enhancing the airiness of the cabin.

The spacious boot incorporates two leisure seats that swing up and out of the boot floor for use when the car is stopped and the rear hatch opened. Solidly constructed from milled aluminium and finished in Connolly saddle leather, these seats swing outwards on a beautifully engineered hinge to provide a practical seating area when the car is stationary. Accessories that support an active lifestyle, such as a torch and a camera, are positioned in leather holsters, in storage compartments located in the boot.

Panoramic sculpted roof
The sense of openness inside the cabin is heightened by the C-X17’s unique panoramic roof. The designers of the C-X17 have constructed the interior of the roof from a series of sculpted vanes running from front to rear, closely arranged in parallel and integrated into the header and cant rails. They are contoured on the lower side to generate extra headroom, and shaped to create a ring of space that enables a whole-roof view of the sky above, giving the occupants a sense of openness. The topside of the vanes follows the smooth profile of the glass roof, maintaining the sleek exterior lines of the C-X17.

Premium two-tone leather trim
The interior of the C-X17 is a juxtaposition of premium traditional materials and modern finishing techniques. Designers drew inspiration from a variety of sources, from extruded aluminium lampshades and lattice-framed stools to premium leather shoes, jackets and handbags, which favoured strong colour contrasts.

Accordingly, the seats, instrument panel, floors, doors and boot are finished in an overlapping combination of Jet saddle leather and Orchid leather panels. Renowned British leather specialist Connolly, the benchmark name in premium automotive cabin craftsmanship, created the bespoke leather panels specially for the C-X17. The 3mm-thick saddle leather, which features bands of stitching to increase the passenger’s tactile experience of these surfaces, is die-cut in a Houndstooth pattern inspired by traditional tailoring materials, lending the interior of the car a classy yet contemporary feel.

The interior door finish is gloss black, while for the interior metal finishes, ruthenium (a member of the platinum family) is used instead of brightwork, creating a darker, more tonal effect that suits the subtle, premium feel of the cabin.

Multi-passenger interactivity
The C-X17 takes interactivity to a new level with the unique Interactive Surface Console that runs the length of the car’s centre tunnel, from the centre console of the dashboard through to the rear seats. Made up of a series of interconnecting touch screens encased in transparent acrylic glass, the Interactive Surface Console connects those in the rear cabin with the driver and front seat passengers via a secure in-car Wi-Fi network.

The Interactive Surface Console allows the vehicle occupants to upload pictures, video and sound files from their mobile devices and share them with their fellow passengers, as well as on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and other social media channels. Using the touchscreens and an intuitive user interface, information can be ‘flicked’ forwards and rearwards between the front and the rear passengers. By enabling sharing, both in terms of technology and information, between the occupants of the C-X17, the Interactive Surface Console puts as much focus on the rear compartment as on the front and immerses all four passengers in a unified multisensory experience.

The C-X17 features a 12-loudspeaker system specifically developed for the vehicle by British ultra-premium audio experts Meridian. Designed closely in conjunction with the development of the C-X17’s interior, the system draws on Meridian’s award-winning digital sound processing technology. An all-enveloping sound field makes each listener feel that the music is exclusively focused on him or her, enabling every occupant to enjoy optimum, authentic sound for an exceptional in-car audio experience.

The C-X17’s instrument panel has a twin-dial configurable TFT console with provision for a Head Up Display – a system which projects vital information onto the windscreen for the driver to process quickly, akin to the systems used in modern fighter aircraft.

The gearshift has a rotary dial, finished in ruthenium, which rises on activation and serves as the interface to toggle between driving modes such as Road, Sport or All-Road. Milled aluminium vents on the console, seats and doors mirror the pattern of the grille mesh.

C-X17 TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
Dimensions (mm)
Length​​​: 4718
Wheelbase:​​​ 2905
Height​​​​: 1649
Width​​​​: 1959
Ground Clearance:​ 213

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