A STUNNING aluminium concept from Jaguar is set to herald a new generation of sports coupes and saloons that will remain true to Jaguar's illustrious past while leaping forward into the technology packed future.

"The Advanced Lightweight Coupe represents the very essence of Jaguar, its heart and soul. If you want to know what lies ahead for us, what direction we will take - this is Jaguar's answer," says Joe Greenwell, chairman of Jaguar Cars.

Created by Jaguar's advanced design team under the eye of renowned design director Ian Callum, the concept features a distinctive tapering shape at both the front and rear so that there appears to be no overhang beyond the wheels, giving the car a presence and a sense of power and potency.

It rides on unique 21-inch alloy wheels with custom-made Pirelli tyres, which sit below wide, flowing haunches. The rear is of particular note, its prominent shoulder helping to exaggerate the size of the wheels relative to the body.

The grille on the show car is also of prime importance as an indicator for the look of future Jaguars. As a pure geometrical form it draws its inspiration from classic Jaguars of the past like the E-type. Additionally, features such as the polished aluminium gills reinforce the engineering integrity that is present in all Jaguars.

Rising from the radiator grille, a prominent bulge in the hood runs to the base of the windscreen, from there the cabin flows back in a clean line to the car's rear end which tapers sharply to a focal point of two, centrally-mounted tailpipes.

The headlights are a departure from the simple elliptical lenses on current Jaguars. Instead a more contemporary, angular design gives the Advanced Lightweight Coupe an edgy look.

Laid out in a classic two plus two sports car format, the Jaguar Advanced Lightweight Coupe cabin is more spacious and better packaged than previous Jaguar coupes, with impressive headroom and multi-directional sports front seats and individual bucket seats in the rear.

The interior is trimmed throughout in a tan leather which has visible stitching on the hides that line the doors and the dashboard. Its focal point is the central dashboard console that houses an advanced Alpine telematics screen which provides user-feedback in the form of a 'pulse' when you touch the on-screen buttons. The instrument binnacle has been designed to relate to the shape of the steering wheel and houses a high-resolution screen between its dials that provides the driver with a secondary source of infotainment and satellite-navigation information.

Behind the steering wheel sit the gearshift levers that operate an automatic paddleshift transmission - the first time this technology has appeared on a Jaguar. The paddles are mounted to the wheel itself, rather than the steering column.

Like Jaguar's XJ and S-TYPE saloons, this car has an adjustable pedal box to ensure that drivers are seated in optimum comfort.

Thanks to a technologically advanced aluminium architecture - which is around 40 percent lighter and 60 percent stiffer than a standard steel body and V8 powertrain assembly, the car should be capable of reaching 60mph from standstill in less than five seconds and breaking the 180mph mark.