Compact sports car looks business focused with over 41mpg and hybrid powertrain

FANCY one of these outside your office? Thought so.

If the Jaguar XF sports saloon – so appealing to so many business owners and business car drivers alike – is too sedate an image, perhaps this is what will be better for your company: Jaguar’s new C-X16 Concept.

The Jaguar C-X16 Concept is due to be unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show on Tuesday September 13, and while it’s a ‘concept’, the C-X16 looks pretty much the finished article. Expect a production version in the not too distant future.

So what is it? The C-X16 is a compact sports coupe two-seater – smaller than any current Jaguar. It’s also a hybrid. Main power comes from a supercharged V6 petrol engine producing 380PS and 450Nm of torque, but there’s additional overtaking power via a Formula 1-inspired hybrid boost system with a steering-wheel mounted button for on-demand acceleration – or, as Jaguar puts it, ‘push to pass’. Top speed is 186mph, 0-62mph is covered in 4.4 seconds while 50-75mph acceleration takes just 2.1 seconds.

But the hybrid system does more than just provide additional performance: like all hybrid systems, it helps to reduce fuel consumption; and also allows the C-X16 to perform as a zero tailpipe-emissions electric vehicle at speeds of up to 50mph.

Which means it will be perfect for business use. CO2 emissions are 165g/km – currently just the wrong side of the key writing down tax break, but we suspect that will be tweaked for the production version – and 41mpg fuel economy.

In addition to the V6 with hybrid power train, there’s fuel-saving Intelligent Stop/Start which is allied to Jaguar’s eight-speed auto transmission recently debuted in the XF.

Jaguar says the C-X16 Concept represents a huge step-change for Jaguar, showcasing new advances in design, in engineering and in vehicle technology – including an aluminium structure – creating ‘the most compact and responsive Jaguar in a generation’.

Ian Callum, director of design at Jaguar said: “Jaguars have always been dramatically different. With the C-X16 we have moved the current award-winning design language on to the next generation, creating a car that is the very essence of future Jaguar performance.”

The C-X16 measures 4,445 mm in length, 2,048 mm in width and 1,297 mm in height and has a wheelbase measuring 2,622 mm. In terms of overall length, the C-X16 is the smallest Jaguar created since 1954 and the XK120, says Jaguar. If you want to visualise it, the C-X16 is shorter than a Porsche Cayman.

The C-X16 will be unveiled at the the Frankfurt Motor Show on Tuesday September 13.

See more pictures Visit our Facebook page for the Jaguar C-X16 Concept album.

See the Jaguar C-X16 video
Visit our YouTube channel to see the Jaguar C-X16 video.