USA - Jaguar Cars Launches design projects with At Centre College of Design & Academy of Art Uni.

• Jaguar launches design projects with Art Center College of Design (ACCD) and Academy of  Art University in San Francisco (AAU)
• ACCD will develop interior and exterior concepts of a Jaguar sports car for future generations
• Teams at AAU will create one of two futuristic Jaguar interior design projects
• Jaguar designers on hand to celebrate the launch of the projects  at each college campus

Today Jaguar announced its partnership with two premier U.S.  design colleges, Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA and the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, CA. Student participants in the program will have the opportunity to work on Jaguar design briefs to create a 2030+ model year concept vision halo sports car and 2+2 sports coupe four-door interior. 

The design briefs were created by the Jaguar Design team who will interact with students throughout the semester and ultimately judge the students' work.

Taking place over the summer semester, the design program will last a total of 12 weeks from start to finish while students transform concept sketches to scale models, both in digital and in clay form. During this time period the students and instructors will work closely with Ian Callum, Jaguar Design Director, and his team on all elements from inspiration, concept sketches to final design approvals, providing an experience as if in an actual global manufacturing design studio.

When the semester ends in August, students will present their final concepts to the Jaguar Design team who, with school faculty, will select the most successful designs.

"Partnering with Pasadena's Art Center College of Design and San Francisco's Academy of Art University will be an exceptional design experience for both the students and Jaguar," said Callum. "The program will provide unique insight for both design schools and Jaguar as to what performance and luxury may look and feel like in the future."

Art Center College of Design is a world renowned school noted for its Transportation Design program that started more than 80 years ago. Today, graduates of the college are influencing decisions at the majority of the world's automotive design studios. Under the direction of the Jaguar Design team, Art Center students will undertake a dream creative brief assignment - to design an iconic gasoline powered sports car. 

Focusing on design language, sculpture and proportion, students will explore future design philosophies for Jaguar that prioritizes form and visual identity. Both interior and exterior concepts will be created in physical and digital form, utilizing the latest in technology and practices.

Founded in 1929 and located in San Francisco, California, Academy of Art University is the largest private Art and Design school in the country with over 17,000 students enrolled. Academy of Art University's industrial design department was established in 1992, followed by the addition of the transportation design major in 1998. The University's open enrollment policy offers greater opportunities for students to enter art and design fields and discover their true calling. 

The Academy of Art University in San Francisco will work collectively between two design briefs. The first is to develop an interior environment for halo sports car. The second is to push opulence into new territory by creating an interior cabin for a 2+2 seat configuration in a large sport coupe four-door. 

Design teams will be composed of individuals from four design disciplines:  industrial designer, color and materials designer, human machine interface designer and a digital modeling designer. The Academy of Art program will also benefit from Jaguar Land Rover's Portland facility where cutting edge technology and groundbreaking interface design are cultivated.

Au Revoir RenaultSport twingo 133, but not for long !

With a new Twingo being readied behind the scenes for launch next year, Renaultsport’s entry model is preparing to hang up its road and track boots. All is not lost just yet though. As, like little puppies chomping at the bit, six of the little wonders are currently in UK stock awaiting new loving homes. So, eager pocket rocket aficionados had better be quick off the line to secure one, before this country’s allocation runs out completely.

The halo model in the iconic Twingo range first launched to Brits back in July 2008, with a total of 1,203 Twingo Renaultsports having found cherished homes in the UK since.

Right from the get go, it didn’t take long to see that the Renaultsport arm’s crack performance team had worked their chassis and performance magic on the baby of the range. To stunning effect some might say, given the car’s humble city car origins.

Critically acclaimed from the outset, not just by the way it drove and handled, but also for its sporty looks and cheeky character, its departure, be it temporary or otherwise, is sure to be sorrowfully noted.

With its peppy, naturally-aspired 133hp 1.6-litre engine, revving to 6,750rpm at full tilt, and powering only 1050kg, its endeared itself to a whole host of admirers. Track or road, the Renaultsport 133 left smiles on the faces of everyone who got behind the wheel.

Its cute, but racy looks set the scene for a focused driving experience even before you got behind the chunky Renaultsport leather steering wheel. The flagship Twingo still bore a strong family resemblance, but with plenty of visual drama added into the mix. Among its bespoke touches were a unique tailpipe, plus beefed up bodywork, including extended side sills and wheel arches, and a rear spoiler. Striking 16- or 17-inch alloy wheels and an F1-inspired front blade completed the purposeful look.

Once inside, the performance theme continued with an array of sporty touches. Several of its highlights being the Renaultsport rev counter and front sports seats, plus brushed aluminium pedals. Hardcore trackdayers and gadget fans weren’t forgotten either, with the onboard telemetry system, Renaultsport Monitor, recently made available too.

Whichever version buyers opted for, be it the standard version with Sport chassis, the even more sought after Cup chassis versions, or exclusive Gordini or Silverstone GP limited editions, in any guise, it offered a bucketload of smiles. In fact, with a great foundation to work with, the road car even spawned successful rally versions, R1 and R2.

Entry into the hallowed realm of Renaultsport ownership world didn’t come too steeply either. The single run out version, simply Twingo Renaultsport 133, is priced at £13,955, excluding the optional Cup chassis, making it one of the simplest, but most effective and affordable ways to learn the delights of hot hatchery. Unsurprising then, that it was consistently hailed as the benchmark pocket hot hatch for the money, racking up multiple awards along the way, including Best Hot Hatch under £15,000 What Car? in 2010 and 2011.

Its hidden talents didn’t end there either. Belying its compact footprint, the top-of-the-range Twingo, like the standard range, was eminently practical. Top billing going to its individually sliding and folding rear seats. This meant that bootspace or rear legroom could both be juggled around at will, whether it was for a four-up trip with some mates to an adrenalin-fuelled track day at Spa, or a zen-scented romantic break with a loved one to a slightly more tranquil type of spa.

So, what’s in store for a future performance Twingo? Officially, there’s been no confirmation of a replacement sporty version of the eagerly-awaited new city car. However, speculation’s rife. Not least as Renault’s Chief Operating Officer, Carlos Tavares, only recently shook the streets of Monaco over the Grand Prix weekend in the jaw-dropping 320hp V6 mid-engined and rear-wheel-drive Twin’Run concept car. Style and powertrain-wise, its bigger brother, the Clio Renaultsport 200 Turbo EDC has also recently ushered in a chic, five-door bodyshell, plus a downsized turbocharged TCe engine to deliver the same power as its preceding 2.0-litre. Whatever happens, one thing’s for sure, it will be sorely missed.