E-Type revival teased

Jaguar has revealed a single artistic rendering of the upcoming C-X16 production concept – a spiritual successor to the iconic E-Type that the company will unveil at the upcoming Frankfurt Motor Show in Germany.

Ian Callum, director of design at Jaguar, had the following to say: “Great Jaguars have always been beautiful, innovative and have looked firmly to the future. The finished C-X16 concept has the potential to do these things while retaining the ability to surprise, to excite and invigorate”.

This C-X16 doesn’t come as too big a surprise as Jaguar showed during 1998 and 2000 the XK180 and F-Type concepts. Back then, Jaguar whetted the appetite of buyers with these compact-oriented sportscars. Finally it seems as if parts of these concepts have come to fruition.

The C-X16 will reportedly sit on a shortened version of the existing XK platform and will adopt a strict two-seater layout in both convertible and fixed-head guises. It has also been speculated that the front-end styling will inherit a number of cues from the C-X75 Concept, such as upright headlamp clusters, a three-piece front air dam and a more angular take on the XK's signature oval grille.

As is usually the case, no specifications have been revealed about this model, but Jaguar confirmed that full details will be made available to the press on 7 September.

Even so, expect the production version to feature, amongst other powertrain derivatives, V6 petrol engines. It is speculated that the top-of-the-range R version will feature a supercharged engine while a turbodiesel model will also be considered, although the latter is highly unlikely to make it to our shores.

*CAR will be attending and reporting from the Frankfurt Motor Show.