Even if the Jaguar C-XF is presented as a concept at the Detroit Auto Show, its clear mission is to prepare the public to the aesthetics of a 2008 replacement for the S-type that will be called the XF. For Ian Callum, Director of Design, Jaguars must now look and feel dynamic; the goal with the C-XF was to design a car with no excessive mass, with surfaces that are tensed like the skin on the muscular body of an athlete.
This performance-oriented four-seater sport sedan confirms the departure from the retro design philosophy that prevailed at Jaguar in the last decade. From now on Jaguars will look like the beast their name metaphorically evokes: svelte, feline, dynamic and aggressive. The most explicit demonstrations of this must be the very fluid roofline and the front end graphics, with those narrow and expressive headlights, and the large, recessed rectangular grille.
Inside too, folklore makes place to innovation: the traditional materials - wood and leather - are treated in an unusual and contemporary fashion, to obtain original textures and grains.
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