Frankfurt: Ian Callum and Adrian Hallmark Q+A

Auto Express talks to Jaguar design director Ian Callum and global brand director Adrian Hallmark about the new C-X16 two seater sports car

Auto Express Car Reviews

By Sam Hardy

September 2011

You look very pleased with yourself! How happy are you with the car and the reception it has had?

Ian Callum: I'm exceedingly happy! For several reasons really. Firstly, we've all wanted to do a car like the C-X16, and It's odd to think that it is finally here. It looks like it's just landed on the stand!

I'm also happy for the team. Throughout the last few years, we've been building a relationship, getting into a rhythm. I had a vision for how the Jaguars should look and we've been trying to express that through the XF and the XJ.

At this point, I believe our ideas are now almost completely aligned. That's not to say that we don't differ in the way we think, but we produce a design in a really constructive way. The product of that focus is the C-X16.

What was the starting point for the C-X16? How did you handle the heritage of the E-Type?

IC: At the beginning of the design process we decided not to mention the E-Type. But it was never going to go away! In the end it came up in a very positive way and we approached C-X16 from the point of view of making a modern day E-Type.

How close is the concept car to being a production-ready model?

IC: If we were given the greenlight to build the car, we are 95 per cent there. Things like the wheels and mirrors would obviously need to be made more road-ready, but put it this way, I'm happy with the shape and I do not want to redesign it. Perhaps the only thing I would add would be a deployable spoiler to aid stability at the rear at high-speed – the rear end is quite low. But that would be it.

Adrian Hallmark: The whole point of showing this concept car is that we want to build it. And now what we are doing is testing public reaction. The car is positioned between the Porsche Boxster and 911 – it is much more focused and sporty than an XK.

What we're doing is analysing public reaction to the pricing and the positioning.

But this car is really ready to go. It drives – very quickly indeed – and would conform to every type of crash legislation.

You showed customers the car at a pre-show event. What was the reaction?

IC: The response has been amazing. I just love the car – but there was no way that I expected the reaction we got last night.

AH: You have to be aware of the party effect [where people are more positive than perhaps they would otherwise be] but there is definitely a buzz about the car. This could be the model that bursts through. It could be our Evoque.

What are you going to call it?

AH: We have a problem. We have all these wonderful badges and so much history – and E-Type is perhaps the most evocative of all.

IC: There have been many occasions where a historic badge has been stuck on the back of a car that doesn't deserve it. I won't name names, but there have been plenty.

AH: That's true.

IC: But we believe this is a fantastic car.

AH: Do we call it E-Type [smiles]? It does have a lot of support from people...

IC: And it does have its own character. Yes, it has lots of classic cues but it is thoroughly. It looks extremely mean when you see it on the street.

What does the C-X16 mean for the XK? Are the two going to step on each others toes? Is there room now for the XK to grow a bit?

AH: If you look at what customers actually pay for an XK, you'll find that we sell hardly any base models, most are R versions with lots of options. So if we were to put the C-X16 on sale with a top price of €80k, there still wouldn't be much overlapping of the two ranges.

Secondly, we have asked XK customers how they use the back seats in their cars. Okay, they are not very spacious, but most use them for bags or for carrying kids. If we said to them we're adding an extra 150mm to it and it'll be a full four-seater, none of them would be happy about that. So I don't see its role changing greatly.

What is the next priority for Jaguar?

AH: We need to realise the potential of what we already have. In the last few years we have aggressively installed the right powertrains in the XF and the XJ. Over the next three years, we'll need to add four-cylinder petrol engines, four-wheel drive and hybridisation to those ranges.

You've talked a lot in the last few months about Jaguar needing a BMW 3-Series rival and an SUV. Are they not priorities?

AH: There are certainly segments in which we are currently not represented that offer huge volume increases for us. But we can increase our volume by improving on what we've got already. As soon as we can, we will enter those segments. But any new model is three years away. Eventually, we will have to start developing our own powertrains in the mid to longterm.