Jaguar C-X16 Concept

The Jaguar C-X16 is just about the coolest concept car ever made. It’s got a hybrid drivetrain that won’t bore you to death, a really cool hatch that opens sideways at the back and looks that will make any other cool cat on the market cower in a corner.

It measures 4.45 meters long, 2.048 meters wide, and 1.297 meters high with a wheelbase measuring 2.62 meters.
The interior of the concept was designed by Jaguar with inspiration from aeronautical ergonomics, including the joystick gear lever, and the plethora of toggle switches on the instrument panel. There are also plenty of different interior color options and trims, including a splashy red interior on the concept that matches well with the silver exterior.

The design of the Jaguar C-X16 was born out of the same creative heads that penned the current XJ, XF, and XK, spearheaded by no less than the company’s design director, Ian Callum.

This gas engine is then joined by an electric motor generator that has been integrated into an eight-speed automatic transmission. In addition to the hybrid engine set-up, the Jaguar C-X16 also features a hybrid boost system that draws its set-up from Formula 1’s Kinetic Energy Recovery System. The KERS-like system on the sports car can be activated with a steering-wheel mounted button, providing increased acceleration courtesy of the car’s electric motor. The concept is also equipped with an intelligent Stop/Start system which further reduces emissions and increases fuel economy. The system operated in heavy traffic or when stopped at traffic lights and is designed to temporarily shut down the engine just 300 milliseconds after the car comes to rest.

All told, the Jaguar C-X16 Concept is capable of hitting 0-62 mph in just 4.4 seconds, whereas the top speed can reach as high as 186 mph.

The Jaguar C-X16 Concept is being prepared as a close-to-production model, give or take a few tweaks. 
This same drivetrain, most likely minus the innovative hybrid booster, will appear in the production version of the concept, the long-rumored Jaguar ‘XE’ sports car due late next year or in early 2013.