Concept Car: Jaguar B99 Concept

Jaguar future sedan has been mapped out by a concept from Italian design firm, Bertone. The B99 � short for Bertone 99 � is a 4,500mm long, 1,950mm wide, and 1,350mm high compact executive sedan that is a smidge smaller than the ill-fated X-Type model and may preview Jaguar�s forthcoming design language.

Jaguar is preparing to launch a compact executive sedan for 2014 and the Bertone concept summarises the retro, graceful proportions, slender greenhouse, short overhangs, and a sporty, imposing, dynamic stance with suicide rear doors.

Bertone design executive, Mike Robinson said: �Jaguar is looking at a new design direction and a small car � and we think this is the right style, with a very light glasshouse and the visual weight concentrated on to the wheels�.

Bertone is going for a new tactic to the four-door coupe; instead of sloping the roofline towards the rear, the company has slot in an ordinary sedan-like C-pillar but have shortened the rear doors to avoid the concept car looking like a fastback.

�Our B99 is definitely not a fastback. We think the fastback lifts the body volume too high above the rear wheels. Jags have always had the weight concentrated on the wheels,� said Robinson.

Inside, the interior features satellite navigation screens and buttons and are hidden behind sliding panels to give the dashboard a clean look.

�Luxury is not hundreds of buttons in the cabin. It�s nothingness, like a iPad,� says Robinson. Braking the norm, the door panels are finished in wood instead of leather.