Jaguar will unveil the all-new C-X16 two-seater concept at the upcoming Frankfurt motor show. The 4.4 m-long C-X16 strongly heralds the arrival of a stand-alone driver’s car for the brand. 

“Expressing lightness” is said to be a new mission statement for the design team. The C-X16 is built around the aluminium XK platform, but with a shorter (2622mm) wheelbase. Its hybrid drivetrain helps it to sprint to 100kph from standstill in just 4.4sec and on to a top speed limited to 300kph.

The drivetrain is based around a new front-mounted, supercharged 3.0-litre V6, which develops 375bhp 45.90 kgm torque. The engine is a modular development of Jaguar’s current AJ-V8, using the same block architecture and quad-cam, four-valve-per-cylinder head design made of recycled aluminium.

This EU6-compliant engine features second-generation direct injection, a higher 10.5:1 compression ratio and a sixth-generation Rootes-type supercharger. The upshot is an impressive specific output of 127bhp per litre. The engine gets Jaguar’s new Twin Solenoid Starter stop-start system and is hooked up to a new version of the familiar ZF eight-speed auto gearbox with an integrated electric motor. This new engine features a patented system of “independently rotating balancer shaft weights” at both ends of the engine - this counters the loss of refinement as the number of cylinders is reduced.

In pure electric mode, using the 95bhp, 23.91kgm electric motor, the C-X16 can travel at up to 80kph for short distances, drawing on the 1.6kWh battery pack situated behind the seats. As well as a 100 time of 4.4sec and a limited 300kph top speed, the C-X16 can cover the 80-120kph sprint in just 2.1sec. 

The styling is a break with recent Jaguar practice. The car’s skin is said to wrap the mechanicals and bodywork “as tightly as possible” and the shape is defined by three ‘heart lines’: the front wing crease, the rear haunches that wrap into the tail and the sweeping roofline. The concept rides on 21in wheels.

The use of the trapezoidal grille and more angular headlamps distances the C-X16 from the ovoid graphics that defined the E-type. The slim, wraparound rear lights have a trace of original E-type, but the side-hinged rear screen makes the clearest hint at Jaguar’s icon.

Perhaps the biggest break with Jaguar’s recent past comes with the two-seat interior. The dashboard architecture moves away from the company’s usual approach by creating a wraparound, driver-centric design that “deliberately creates as cocooned and cosseting a space as possible”. Much of the interior inspiration comes from modern aircraft cockpit design. The “unadorned” dash-top houses a double vent, inspired by the intakes on a Typhoon fighter, that deploys to provide blasts of hot and cold air as required.

Pushing the starter button kicks off an “aircraft-inspired” sequence in which the centre console displays light up in a cascading sequence from top to bottom. These TFT screens are hidden until they are lit. Unlike in the XJ, the main instruments are real dials but hidden behind a smoked glass panel. A conventional gearlever has made reappearance, as has chunky, machined switchgear. Each of the rotary heating controls has a miniature smartphone-style OLED display. The cabin is trimmed in Alcantara, with a floor finished in aluminium and black leather.