It’s been a long road for Jaguar’s long-awaited sub-XK sportscar, as fans have been holding their breath for something small, tossable and decked out in Ian Callum sheet metal since the 2000 F-Type Concept. And though this C-X16 is technically a concept, it’s been approved for production and according to Autocar its supercharged V6 hybrid drivetrain is

expected to appear in other Jaguar Land Rover vehicles before the end of next year.

Unfortunately, between the hybrid drivetrain and a platform that will also be used on the next-gen XK, the C-X16 isn’t as light as the new 911 it benchmarks. I’m not a huge fan of the interior either, which Jaguar calls “1 + 1.” But with Carrera performance, high-tech toys like a KERS regenerative braking system, and about 3,500 lbs of kerb weight, the C-X16 has a lot of the things people look for in a premium sportscar. Besides, once Porsche’s “Baby Boxster” comes out, perhaps Jaguar will follow it closer to “true Roadster” territory…

Citroen has been catching our eye of late with its “anti-retro” DS line, and the Tubik Concept looks likely to keep the trend rolling. Inspired by the classic H-Type delivery van, the Tubik takes an aged aesthetic and pumps it full of futuristic French élan. Yes it’s miles from a production model, and more loaded down with more conceptual details and avant-garde styling elements than a Berlin disco, but it accomplishes two basic tasks: first, it shows how well classic French design can be adapted to a fast-changing future, and second, it shows that vans do not have to be dull, utilitarian things. In this age of dull crossovers and anonymous international design, these are accomplishments worth noting. And the Tubik is a design that’s worth remembering.

I was living in Austria when the first-generation A2 came out, and I was mildly shocked to find that I couldn’t find a single native who was as geeked about Audi’s baby aluminum wonder as I was. Sure, it was geeky and overpriced, but for me it surpassed even the TT as the apotheosis of Peter Schreyer’s bauhaus-inspired design language. Tyroleans of all ages laughed off my enthusiasm as eccentricity, and across Europe the A2 never sold especially well.

But by the time production ended in 2005, the A2 was as fresh as the day the first example rolled out of Neckarsulm, and even to this day its resale value has held up extremely well. To be completely honest I don’t actually have the numbers to back that up, but it’s what I was told when I was in Germany earlier this Summer. And in Volkswagen’s Autostadt, the A2 has a special place of honor inside the Zeithaus (House of Time) alongside another ahead-of-its-time freak: the Citroen DS.

Will the next A2, a concept version of which is headed to the Frankfurt Show, be as special? It still has an aluminum spaceframe… but it’s also 2011, not 1999. The A2 2.0 has its work cut out for it…

If you’re one of those people who can’t stand the glacial styling evolution of the Porsche 911, look away now. Smart’s new Forvision Concept is said to preview some of the look of the next-gen Smart and, well, it’s no radical change. In fact, if you were to strip away all of the “concept-y” features from this thing, you’d be left with something like a current Smart with a fancy bodykit. Oh sure, it’s got “organic solar cells” on the roof and heat-conductive and insulating “e-textile” seat coverings, but this plug-in concept really just proves that Smart is a fixed idea. Though updates will be welcome in the European market where Smart already does well, but unless Smart shows a concept with a lower price, higher efficiency and more satisfying transmission, it’s hard to see the American market losing any sleep over such a “future Smart.”

Often times concept vehicles portray an already-decided future direction. Other times, concepts are built to suggest one possibility in an ongoing debate about a model’s future. Land Rover has taken the latter approach with its new DC100 concept,  telling Autocar that the Frankfurt-bound concept

builds upon essential elements of the Defender’s character and allows us to open the debate and inspire people to dream about Defenders of the future. The DC100 isn’t a production-ready concept, but the beginning of a four-year journey to design a relevant Defender for the 21st century.

Will the new Defender get an all-new version of its rugged, body-on-frame chassis, or will it move to a re-engineered version of the T5 platform that underpins the Discovery and Range Rover Sport? That’s all still to be decided as Landie navigates a sales and regulatory environment that makes life extremely difficult for old-school SUVs. And because the Defender has lost much of its developing-world market to more reliable Toyota 4x4s, I’d guess the next Defender will be a less-traditional interpretation of the original. While that’s all being hashed out ahead of the 2015 launch date, at least we have an attractive concept to go along with a compelling debate.

Panther lovers will be sad to hear that this, the last of the black-and-white Crown Vic Interceptors, has gone down the line according to the Ford St Thomas Assembly Plant’s Facebook page. The last Panther (reportedly a Town Car) is scheduled to be built on Monday, and the plant’s “about 1,500” workers will be laid off on the 12th of September. If you know someone who loves the Panther chassis, please be sensitive to their needs in this difficult time. Remind them that there’s always the used market, and that someday their beloved brutes will tear ass across a post-apocalyptic landscape, and be known as “the last of the V8 Interceptors.” This is going to be OK…

But… shouldn’t it be? Oh, Ford. You come up with something sexy and desirable, and you can’t help but slap a blue oval on it, can you? Ford Design Boss J Mays explains the choice, saying

We wanted the Ford Evos Concept to give a clear message about where Ford design is heading – shaping vehicles that are fun to drive, have a strong premium visual appeal, and above all, are stunningly beautiful. Our exciting new design DNA has been developed and refined by an intensive effort by all of our talented global design team. As a team, we wanted to create a more technical design vocabulary to help communicate the smart technology that is now core to the Ford brand. In addition, we worked particularly hard on meeting the high-expectations of a new generation of buyers – a group of consumers who have grown up surrounded by beautiful, premium design work on even the most affordable products.

Which leaves Lincoln… where?

Meet the new Fiat Panda, which is set to debut at the Frankfurt Auto Show. The ur-Panda, nicknamed the “tolle kiste” (crazy/cool box) for its Giugiaro-designed looks and available Puch-designed 4×4 system, was built with only evolutionary changes from 1980 to 2003. Not a bad accomplishment for what was supposed to be a “peasant’s car.” The new (3rd Gen) Panda, based on the Fiat 500/Ford Ka platform, has an even tougher task ahead of it: not only must it pick up sales for Fiat in Europe, but it must also form the basis of Dodge and Jeep B-segment models, aimed at the US market. Is it up to the task?
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Think “French Crossover” and you might picture something like the Peugeot Bipper Tepee: willfully weird, wildly named and highly functional in a boring, European delivery van kind of way. But Peugeot seems determined to craft a new image for its people-carrying future, starting with this HX1, which it says represents what a crossover offering could be in 2020. With “4 + 2” modular seating and a version of Peugeot’s real-world diesel-hybrid AWD system, the HX1 belies its concept-y dimensions and half-scissor doors. And though its style is based on the design language that debuted with the SR-1 Concept, it’s long-and-low looks remind me of its sister-brand Citroen’s recent Metropolis Concept. In any case, it’s got as much in common with the Bipper Tepee as I do with Laetitia Casta… which gives me some hope for the crossover future.

Back in April, I saw this car at Hyundai’s America Technical Center, but it was still heavily camouflaged and cameras were verboten. And unlike Hyundai’s other big 2012 Model-Year news, the wildly-improved “Grandeur” Azera replacement, we hadn’t seen photos of the updated GenCoupe leak out of Korea. Until now. Our man in Seoul, Walter Foreman, sent us these pics showing an updated Genesis Coupe sporting its own take the familiar familial fascia. Look for an official reveal at the LA Auto Show.

This is the kind of video that might suffice as standalone weekend entertainment. After all, braking a truck with your feet is a pretty demonstrably bad idea. But the lovable nerds at Popular Science just had to take it a step further and work out the physics of trying to halt a truck ala Fred Flintstone, noting

Let’s estimate he can push down with a force about a quarter of his weight. If he weighs 200 pounds, this would result in a force of 50 pounds, or 225 N. We also know that the force of friction (F) between his feet and the asphalt depends on the force with which he pushes down (N) and the “coefficient of kinetic friction”(μ) between the soles of his shoes, which we will assume are made of rubber, and the pavement.

F = μN

The μ between rubber and asphalt varies between 0.5 and 0.8. Let’s assume a value of 0.7. Therefore, solving for stopping distance, we get:

D = ½(2100kg)(18m/s)2/(0.7)(225N) = 2160 meters, or over 1.3 miles!

The situation might be improved if he exerted his full 200 pounds, or 900 Newtons, of force against the ground. In that case:

D = 1/2(2100kg)(18m/s)2/(0.7)(900N) = 540 meters (about a third of a mile)

However, the amount of torque exerted on his ankles and knees might make that a problematic proposition.

Surf on over to PopSci for the entire breakdown (no pun intended).

The launch of a new Camry is something of a big deal in this industry, and TTAC’s global resources are standing by to provide more coverage than you could possibly hope for. Both Michael Karesh and Steve Lang will be sharing their impressions of the US launch, and Bertel is off to Tokyo tonight to cover the Japanese launch as well. I’m about to catch a plane myself for an entirely different assignment, so I’ll leave the commentary to TTAC’s Best and Brightest for now. What say you B&B? Based on these earliest impressions, will the Camry continue its dominant legacy, or is this another step in the slide from greatness that so many have been predicting for Toyota? Discuss…

Oh look, a convertible Ferrari 458. And, true to the brand’s nouveau-riche poser image, it’s one of those awful, complex, weight-adding, retractable hardtops. What’s that, Autocar? You say the 458 uses a “pivoting” hardtop like the 575 Superamerica (rather than a hinged system), and that actually it’s 55 lbs lighter than the 430 Spyder’s ragtop? Plus, it leaves space for a “luggage bench behind the seats”? Well, damn. Arguing with that is like, well, arguing that no sportscar brand should ever give up the involvement of the manual transmission. No matter how badly I want to disapprove of nearly every thing Ferrari does these days, I just… well, let’s just say they don’t make it easy. Bastards.

Over the last several months I’ve been especially glad that TTAC is relatively more free from the demands of the news cycle, as the doldrums of August has left us with little in the way of breaking news. Luckily TTAC is blessed with the kind of writers who can make even the most obscure story relevant and fascinating, and we’ve kept up our story cadence rolling even through the near media blackout of deep summer. But with just under a month left before the first and biggest auto show of the year, the Internationale Automobile Ausstellung in Frankfurt, the concepts and new models are starting to be rolled out, and the news cycle is chugging back to life. And one of the sparks that’s getting things moving again is this Kia rear-drive, four-door sports coupe concept.
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Everyone knows what a Hofmeister Kink is… but until today’s debut of the Infiniti JX, nobody had ever heard of a Hofmeister Curve. Well, here it is… what do you think of it? Gimmick or gamechanger?