2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept
The
2011 Jaguar Sport cars Bertone
Jaguar B99 Concept is a team effort between
Jag and Bertone and serves as way for Bertone to celebrate its 99th Anniversary. The new compact Jag's name is a melding of the company's first initial and its age. Bertone says the
concept is a
design study in what it calls "dynamic imbalance" between parallel lines and "leaping forms."
2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept
The 2011 Jaguar Sport cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept result is a compact, four-door sedan (4.5 m long, 1.35 m tall, 1.95 m wide, 2.8 m wheelbase) that fits perfectly into the D segment. Starting with a classic three-volume architecture, Bertone designers have shaped the taut, muscular body with bold yet refined character, entirely constructed with handmade aluminum panels in true Italian "coachbuilder" tradition. The unique personality of the luxury sports sedan is emphasized by the sophisticated minimalism outside and in, underlining the true nature of the British authenticity where understatement equals exclusiveness.
2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 ConceptIn terms of technological innovation, the 2011 Jaguar Sport cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept uses a pure
hybrid power system designed and developed by
Bertone Energy (the newest Bertone division dedicated to renewable energy research), including a thermal engine for range extension and two electric motors which provide propulsion for the rear wheels. Bertone has been studying ecologically sustainable powertrain systems for the past twenty years, with many examples including
full-electric "extreme" concept cars like the 1992 Blitz or 1994 Zer record car, which was the first full-electric car to break the 300 km/h speed barrier in the world. With the
2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept, Bertone establishes a new record in its 99 year history as the only Italian designer to have created five different Jaguars.
2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept
These renderings of the 2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept have been leaked ahead of its official debut March 1st at the Geneva Auto Show, giving a hint at how Jaguar intends to style its new entry-level luxury sports sedan. According to recent reports, however, this new model won’t be the first new Jag to debut, with a rumored XE compact sports car planned for next year.
2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept
Measuring 4.5 meters long, 1.95 meters wide, and 1.35 meters high with a 2.8-meter wheelbase, the B99 has the dimensions to make a run at the luxury sport car segment. That is if the car ever makes it to production.
2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept
So when talking about powertrains, the 2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept blows the top-level 3-Series out of the water with the latter’s 4.0-liter V8 engine with 414 horsepower compared to the B99’s 1.4-liter gas engine combined with the two 150 kW motors, producing a total of 570 horsepower. Conversely, the Mercedes C-Class also falls short in the engine department compared to the 2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept with its 3.5-liter V6 engine that produces 302 horsepower.
2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept
"Performance through innovation" is one of Jaguars slogans, and today more than ever powerful sports cars must find new responsible ways to offer both high performance and ecological sustainability. The 2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept is powered by a modular, Extended Range Hybrid system which futuristic utilizes twin 150kW (204 Cv) electric engines connected to the inboard side of the rear axle for propulsion and a lightweight 1.400 cm3 thermal engine producing 125 kW-170 Cv for range extension, giving a combined power output of 425 kW or 570 Cv. The thermal engine charges the Lithium-ion batteries while driving allowing for a theoretical range of 700 kilometers of highway driving between fill-ups with a carbon dioxide output of around 30 g Co2/km. The 2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept can also travel in full electric mode offering zero emissions for 100kms.
2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept
Designed by Bertone’s chief of design, American Michael Robinson, the 2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept blends shapely surfacing with powerful proportions. “It is a typical Jaguar,” says Robinson. The classic cat-inspired rear haunch lends itself to Jaguar’s heritage, and the C-pillar is much more formal than that of the current Ian Callum- designed XJ and XF models. The B99 also sports a bit of concept car showmanship with its rear-hinged suicide doors and B-pillarless cabin.
2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept
Despite the shapely body concours, there is little else in the way of ornamentation save for the chrome window surrounds, front fender vent and Jaguar “leaper” on the hood. Bertone characterizes this as a “minimalist luxury sports sedan.” It is a nice blend of tradition and modernity.
2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept
That tradition is also apparent in the interior’s large swaths of wood veneer and leather. The stylish cabin would help the 2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept command luxury prices, while at the same time allowing its clientele to feel socially responsible as a result of the unique powertrain.
2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept
UPDATE 03/08/11: According to Automotive News, Jaguar was not impressed by the 2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept and will not put it to production: "It is not our concept. We appreciate the fact that Jaguar is interesting enough for people to do a concept around. It’s not that we are offended by it, or against it — it is just not for us." Jaguar has plans to enter new market segments by 2014, but this will be done with their own work: "We have concepts all over the place. A lot of work has been done," said Adrian Hallmark, Jaguar’s global brand director.
2011 Jaguar Sport Cars Bertone Jaguar B99 Concept
Anyhow, in said episode, hosts Raymond and Joe happened to bring up a rather interesting factoid--namely, that while Dr. Leary was imprisoned at Folsom in 1973 (next door to Charlie Manson, in fact), he started having weird dreams and visions akin to those concurrently being experienced by Robert Wilson, and in fact credited these dream-visions to an alien intelligence--from SIRIUS. Talk about some weird synchronicity... Not only in 1973, but in the present day as well. It turns out I wasn't, in fact, the first to make some connections about what happened back in '73--host Joe McPhall pointed out the strange similarities between PKD, RAW, and Leary's stories as well, actually taking it a step further to include the psychedelic/cosmic experiences of DMT guru Terence McKenna in the Amazon at almost the EXACT SAME TIME.
Leary wrote about his visions and theories about interstellar contact in 1973's Starseed (right), which you can begin reading HERE. A shortened version of his revelations from Sirius (which I found here) read as follows: 
Life on planet Earth has now reached this halfway point, established itself, and evolved through larval mutations and metamorphoses to the seven brain stages.
The Japanese people are the most advanced race on your planet and will give protection to the company.
TUNE IN
BROS 4 EVS.
Metallum/Last.FM
July 23, 1973: Our old pal Robert Anton ("Pope Bob") Wilson, co-author of the Illuminatus! Trilogy, author of The Cosmic Trigger, Prometheus Rising, and countless others, proponent of higher conciousness, laughter, and ridiculousness, Discordian, guerilla ontologist, enemy of "is", 
As documented in the film Maybe Logic, Wilson's refusal to accept or deny any one interpretation of "REALITY" was what defined him as a free thinker, and the concept was one that he fully fleshed out in Cosmic Trigger.
So why SIRIUS? Judging from the title of this post, said star system (it's actually a binary star system, consisting of a white main sequence star of spectral type A1V, termed Sirius A, and a faint white dwarf companion of spectral type DA2, termed Sirius B) plays a central point in today's discussion. Why did a mind as vast and brilliant as Wilson's place so much importance on this one particular point in the Universe? Was it by choice that he placed that importance, or was the connection established by an alien force indeed? For one, Wilson's cosmic awakening took place on July 23rd, 1973, and Sirius happened to be "rising" at the time. Mid-to-late July = "the DOG DAYS" right? So what significance does that fact hold, if any?
February/March 1974: Another one of science fiction's greatest (and strangest) minds is possessed by Sirian intelligence. I speak, of course, of Philip K. Dick (whom I've written about at length before), a guy who places so much signifigance on the event that he begins referring to it simply as "2-3-74" and hand writes an 8,000-page manifesto about it (it's called the Exegesis).
This was the birth of PKD's "VALIS" (Vast Active Living Intelligence System), a nebulous and all-encompassing concept that he wrote about at great length--most notably in the eponymous Valis, published in 1981. Initially intended as the beginning of a trilogy (much like Illuminatus!), Valis was followed by The Divine Invasion later that year, although the final chapter, The Owl In Daylight, was unfinished at the time of PKD's death in 1982.
PS The story of the missing PKD android is pretty nuts too.
More: At one point, Dick claimed to be in a state of enthousiasmos with VALIS, where he was informed his infant son was in danger of perishing from an unnamed malady. Routine checkups on the child had shown no trouble or illness; however, Dick insisted that thorough tests be run to ensure his son's health. The doctor eventually complied, despite the fact that there were no apparent symptoms. During the examination doctors discovered an inguinal hernia, which would have killed the child if an operation was not quickly performed. His son survived thanks to the operation, which Dick attributed to the "intervention" of VALIS.
Yes.
No.
Not you, Dagon. DOGON.
...A lot is made of the elliptical symbolism used by the Dogon to describe their sacred tertiary star system. They clearly identify this system as Sirius. Let us suppose that they have a long religious tradition, dating back to their Egyptian roots, then imparted through Greek migratory patterns. This tradition did indeed describe Sirius and this elliptical binary star system, but the Dogon were already separated from mainstream civilisation during the period we are interested in, namely the 1st century AD. They, like the Middle Eastern world, watched the heliacal setting and rising of Sirius each year, in the hope of seeing the appearance of the binary dark star, Nibiru. During the first century AD, it appeared, as promised.
They watched the red star appear near Sirius, and possibly watched some of its motion through the constellation of Canis Major. The perihelion passage was marred visually for the Dogon, just as it was for the Romans, Egyptians and Mesopotamians. The sense of the motion having occurred around the Sun was thus lost. It is easy to see how the Dogon would attribute the star’s appearance to Sirius the Sirius system itself: the red star appears near Sirius, moves across it and disappears. To the Dogon, the ‘Nommo star’ must have appeared to move along its elliptical orbit, brightening whilst coming towards us, and than receding back to Sirius. The tradition of the Sirius system as being the home of the gods would have been visibly played out in the heavens for the Dogon observers..."
Wow. It seems that Sirius has had something of a long history of communication with the people of Earth (only if you consider 5,000 years a long time, that is). Maybe Wilson and Dick were on to something... Perhaps only the highest-functioning minds amongst us are able to recognize the Sirian communication-waves, maybe Dick's "pink beam of light" really is out there, unable to connect, as it were, with all the Cro-Magnon brains present on the planet today. Then again, maybe not.
SIRIUS: YOU THE MAN NOW, DOG. 