Motoring in Spain - Jaguar CX-F
COOL CAT
Jaguar CX-F COOL CAT
WITH OUR REGULAR MOTORING CORRESPONDENT, CHARLIE FLINDT, BUSY WITH OTHER "OFF THE ROAD" PURSUITS LAST MONTH, WE THOUGHT WE’D TAKE THE OPPORTUNITY TO OFFER A SNEAK PREVIEW OF THE JAGUAR C-XF – UNVEILED TO GREAT FANFARE IN DETROIT.
Over the past few years Jaguar have set their sights on attracting more trendy – often younger – clients who tend to be most comfortable behind the wheel of a Mercedes CLS. The only problem was, the options were essentially limited to an S Type or XJ series.
That is all about to change, quite radically. Jaguar’s C-XF four-door sports saloon was unveiled at the Detroit motor show last month and is due to go into production as the XF next year.
Headed by Ian Callum, the C-XF design team say they drew inspiration from Jaguar founder Sir William Lyons’ 1950 Mark VII and 1959 Mark II saloons and the XK120, in what is both a new direction for the company and an enhanced focus on technological innovation.
"Jaguars should be perceived as cool cars," notes Ian Callum, "and cool cars attract interesting, edgy people. The next generation of Jaguars will do just that."
The emphasis is on "tailored performance rather than pampered luxury". However, with such features as brushed aluminium facia, carbon-fibre pattern leather and scorched poplar wood, it is no exaggeration when Callum describes the cabin as "one of the most exciting interiors Jaguar has ever done". Occupants have a sense of "sitting deep within a futuristic cockpit", in line with the Jaguar philosophy of ensuring they "feel as if they are enclosed in the car, not sitting in it".
For those who also like to use their car as a mobile music room, Jaguar worked with British loudspeaker manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins to produce "visually stunning" honeycomb speakers set into the rear parcel shelf and front facia top.
The C-XF’s exterior colour palette is deliberately monochromatic, mixing Metashine silver with areas of brightwork in either chrome or aluminium finishes, and white ceramic to indicate areas of dynamic air flow or heat exchange. "We’ve taken our inspiration from machinery as diverse as aircraft to cameras," explains head of advanced design Julian Thomson, "to make the car look like it was milled from a solid piece of metal."
Jaguar’s ethos as far as new technology is concerned is to "surprise, delight and inform" rather than bombard the user with excessive information or choice. To that end – though bearing in mind that Jaguar still like to offer a "sense of fun" in their new models – perhaps the most theatrical feature is the starting sequence. The driver presses a jewel-like Power button on the centre console – "its rhythm representing the ‘heartbeat’ of the car" – and concentric aluminium rings spiral downwards to allow the new circular JaguarDriveSelector to nestle directly in the palm. "Then, as the engine starts, a beam of blue light radiates from the centre of the instrument panel, chases its way around the cabin and finally envelopes the rear seats. Overhead, an electro-luminescent panel spanning the entire roofline bathes the interior in a muted blue light to give a feeling of ambience and space. Outside, a burst of blue light from the front grille marks the moment the car’s engine fires into life."
Life beneath the bonnet is just as impressive as the cabin: the C-XF is powered by an enhanced version of Jaguar’s 4.2-litre supercharged V8 engine, tuned to produce more than 420bhp and 500Nm of torque – while the six-speed automatic transmission comes with Jaguar Sequential Shift manual gear-change capability. If the C-XF were a production car, it would reach an electronically limited top speed of 250kph, with the possibility of an unrestricted top speed of 290kph.
So the bottom line, according to Callum, is that Jaguar have created "the absolute definition of athleticism", a performance-orientated sports saloon that is still practical and capable of carrying four people in comfort.
