Concept drive – Jaguar C-X17
Feature | crankandpiston.com / EVO Middle East
James drives Jaguar’s first ever SUV concept – the C-X17 – in Dubai.
Originally posted – 5 November, 2013 | cranakndpiston.com | EVO Middle East magazine
“It’s all Jaguar”
It’s a decisive answer to a question most – if not all – Jaguar fans have asked of the marque’s new C-X17 SUV concept. Given that sister company Land Rover last year brought out a new, more luxurious Range Rover, speculation concerning whether the C-X17 was just a rebadged version was rife at the model’s global debut at this year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. Scratch beneath the surface though and you’ll apparently find a big cat grinning back at you.
“The architecture is new, and it’s been designed specifically for a Jaguar,” says Ian Callum, director of design for the company. “It’s not as if we were unaware of Land Rover being there – of course we were – but it wasn’t something that occurred to us because we were designing a Jaguar. For the first time in our history, we’re designing an architecture that will actually span us not just in years but in car types.”
Note the repeated key word there. Having been in development for three years, Jaguar’s all-new advanced aluminium architecture – a stiffer, more versatile aluminium base on which future Jaguar models will be built – marks a big direction change for the British marque. Rather than working on a car-by-car basis, swapping platforms and powertrains and bending the bodywork to match, the new architecture allows greater flexibility and consequentially a broader design portfolio: whereas before a saloon and a coupe would require two separate platforms, the new advanced aluminium architecture – codenamed iQ[Al] – can facilitate both with limited faff. Having removed compromise, the new architecture gives more freedom to the design department, a more streamlined approach to production, and hopefully an end of year balance much further in the black.
So convinced is Jaguar that its new structure is the bees knees that their first design studio showcases the most extreme example of its capabilities: the C-X17, the first such SUV example in the company’s 91-year history (though the top cats are understandably tight-lipped on whether the concept will make production).
But is this the right direction for the British staple of refined saloons, coupes and sporty convertibles? Does Jaguar’s first ever SUV concept ably demonstrate the new architecture’s capabilities? Today we’re here to find out. Today, we’re going to drive the C-X17.
You read that correctly. In a hugely generous offer from Jaguar, evo Middle East is just one of eight global publications invited to test the new concept ahead of its regional debut at the Dubai Motor Show.
Let’s start out by hammering this point home. The C-X17 is not a production ready Jag, nor a pre-production model with a couple of rough edges to smooth out. Focus is explicitly on the looks rather than the engineering, and what we have here today is a model some three or four years away from hitting the production line, should it even do so. It’s essentially a design study that moves, and which should not be judged as anything more than that.
When evo Middle East turns up for its low-speed run just in front of Dubai’s famous Meydan Hotel, we are greeted by only a handful of Jaguar representatives, a small seating area with water aplenty and choice nibbles, the sound of a small crowd nearby keen to see what all the fuss is about, and a closed off air-conditioned canopy, inside which lies the C-X17. Given that the rolling model we’ll be driving is the only one in the world, Jaguar is understandably a bit nervous. My ‘full briefing’ entails instructor Kevin asking me to please be ‘very gentle’ when I’m behind the wheel. It’s looking increasingly unlike we’ll get any 0-100kph times in today.
Full ‘briefing’ over, Kevin disappears into the air-conditioned canopy – stepping over chilled orange juice cartons and trays of sandwiches as he does – to fire the C-X17 into life. A low, bassy whoomph – very Jaguar-ish – emanates from behind the flaps, and soon the big cat is rolling out of its canvas dungeon, delicately-crafted buttocks first. Those distinctive slim taillights (indicative of the F-TYPE), cheeky roof-lip spoiler and twin exhausts confirm Ian Callum’s assurance that the C-X17 is ‘the most elegant, most beautiful crossover’ Jaguar can make. Aside from a new silver paint finish little has changed since the concept’s Frankfurt outing, including the enormous 23-inch alloy wheels. It’s the front though that makes the biggest impact, the eleven perfectly moulded hexagonal strips behind the headlamp covers, elegant sweeping bonnet and accompanying grooves, slick headlamps and cavernous air intakes (with full-piece light strips around the edges) are an emphatic job well done. The C-X17 really does look as a Jaguar should.
So far so real then, but it’s a far different prospect on the inside. It might look like a production car on the outside but inside is pure concept car; all style and design, with – at this stage of development – none of the practical refinement that the production car will feature. Given also that this is my first concept test drive, it’s a big eye-opener: how many times have you looked at a beautiful concept car and wondered how it actually drives?
Having asked one of the crew to open the driver’s side door for me – apparently I risk breaking the delicate hinges – the futuristic interior is a staggering contrast. All through the cabin there is chrome detailing, large glass covers and leather surfaces. The floating centre console is a particularly gorgeous addition, as is Jag’s now traditional rising rotary dial for the drivetrain, silver detailed steering wheel and pedals, touchscreen infotainment system and spherical driver information screens. There’s also some natty plastic strips running along the panoramic sunroof, dissipating the sunlight shining through and giving subtle features of the cabin more definition. It’s all very striking and, as it turns out, impractical.
Invited as I am to step into the driver’s seat by Kevin, I find there are no seatbelts, no indicator or windscreen stalks, no systems of any kind actually working, no air conditioning (another reason why our run has to be kept short), and door handles hidden so well that I’m temporarily trapped in the cabin when evo’s run is finished. The cream seats look the part but have been designed to emphasise their dimensions rather than to hold a driver’s contours. As such, they are fantastically uncomfortable, and while there’s just about enough head and legroom, I daren’t fish around for any seat controls for fear of pulling off a button. Fortunately visibility through the windscreen and rear three-quarters is pretty good, an added bonus since I have no rear-view mirror.
I do have to keep reminding myself that the C-X17 is a concept model, not production ready, and thus not yet prepared to take journalistic criticism on its sculpted chin. This is ably demonstrated when Kevin in the passenger seat inserts what appears to be a large Allen key into a small gap in the transmission tunnel and twists to change the drivetrain from Park to Drive.
A vibration runs through the right pedal signifying that the engine – details of which Jaguar are keeping to themselves at the moment – is ready to go. Jaguar has confirmed that the new SUV design study can incorporate anything from four-cylinders to the company’s monstrous 5.0-litre supercharged V8 thanks to the architecture’s flexibility. My immediate concern though is the alignment of the steering wheel, banked as it is heavily to the right: the traditional ‘10 and 2’ driving position is now ’12 and 6’.
As we pootle along at a brisk 26kph, it’s clear Jaguar has yet to fine tune the acoustics. There’s a tremendous racket billowing through the door seals, an issue not really helped by the specially designed Pirelli tyres – solid and for showroom use only – which also make the ride rock hard. It’s difficult to gauge gear change ferocity at these speeds but the (unspecified) engine seems alert enough. What does make for some dry eyes in the Jaguar cabin is the very noticeable grinding of metal on metal as I slow for the corners: imagine slowing without brakes pads and hearing just the discs rubbing against each other. It’s tempting to drive without the brakes and to white knuckle it around corners: despite the ludicrous steering angle, this is perfectly achievable given the comparative lack of body lean. Then again, the bollocking I would receive for sticking the C-X17 into the sand doesn’t bear thinking of. Remember, nothing on this one-off model is even close to production-ready. Nothing. It’s about as close to driving a designer’s sketch as I’m ever likely to get.
A little over three minutes later, evo’s run is complete, my door is opened, and the C-X17 is rolled back into its air-conditioned canopy in readiness for its next victim, leaving me free to ponder my experience.
At this stage the C-X17 is uncomfortable, barely controllable, noisy and unrefined, but sampling the driving experience is not really the reason we’ve been invited here today. The C-X17 is still a design study, and a rolling example to boot. Of course there are rough edges and changes to be made. Naturally the driving characteristics aren’t up to scratch yet. And obviously flapping upholstery and nerve-pinching seats won’t make the production line. That’s not the point of today’s exercise.
Today Jaguar invited us to see and experience the future, exemplified by the company’s first ever SUV concept. It’s a chance for us to see the all-new advanced aluminium architecture in practice, making it real. As well as being gorgeous beyond measure, it’s only when we scratch beneath the surface of the Jaguar C-X17 – as we have done today – that we can see its purpose, its impact, and the mighty step the company has taken.
Underneath the C-X17, you certainly won’t find a Range Rover.
Images | Jaguar Middle East and Africa
Feature | crankandpiston.com / EVO Middle East | James Gent