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Who picks car colors and materials? Designers like Hannah Custance

As automotive journalists, we're often asked "how did you get that job?" People usually didn't even know you could do such a thing. In this 7 Questions series, we're highlighting other jobs in the automotive industry that you might not have heard about before. What do they do, how'd they get to do it and other questions about their particular corner of the car world. Slowly but surely, the automotive landscape is becoming more colorful. Look beyond the unrelentingly conservative palette of white, black and gray most buyers opt for and you'll see the increased use of exterior trim types beyond the usual chrome. There's gloss black, of course, but also other metallic finishes like gold or copper. Those can be found inside, too, where there's also an increase in colorful leathers and trims, innovative fabrics, new wood types and finishes, and greater creativity in general. So where is this change coming from? The answer is designers like Hannah Custance, the color and materials design manager for Jaguar Land Rover. Her team's latest effort is also its magnum opus, the 2022 Range Rover. Although saddled with the expectations that comes with one of the automotive industry's classic nameplates, the all-new Range Rover is also a celebration of cutting edge manufacturing and fashion-forward materials selection. We sat down with Hannah at the L.A. Auto Show to find out more about color and materials designers, how she ended up in the industry, and advice she might have for young designers out there. It has been condensed for brevity. Autoblog: What does a color and materials design manager to do?Hannah Custance: I basically look after a team of designers who design finishes for every A surface on the car. So, that could be exterior finishes. It could be interior trim materials, soft materials, hard materials, chromes, metals, woods, ceramic – that's one of the new ones – anything you can kind of touch and see is color material design. Autoblog: How early in the design process does your team become involved.Hannah: Right at the very start. In fact, we look at materials that don't have a product assigned to them or a car assigned to them. So, it takes actually a very long time for us to get materials approved and fully validated. We have to find suppliers that are willing to work in automotive and our test standards are incredibly high, some of the highest in the industry.

2017 Jaguar electric SUV to draw stylistically from C-X75

Jaguar is gearing up to launch its first all-electric model. And given the direction the industry is going – to say nothing of previous reports – it should come as little surprise that it'll be an SUV. And though details are few and far between at this point, some information is beginning to surface. According to British publication Autocar, the forthcoming electric crossover will draw its stylistic inspiration from the C-X75 concept. For those who may not recall (or haven't seen the new Bond flick), the C-X75 was Jaguar's idea for a hybrid hypercar to compete with the likes of the McLaren P1, Porsche 918 Spyder, and LaFerrari. After initial plans for a turbine powertrain were scrapped in favor of a small twin-charged four-cylinder hybrid, plans for production were ultimately shelved. But the vehicle resurfaced for a starring role in the new 007 film Spectre. If the decision to put a defunct concept in a new movie struck you as odd, reports of the electric crossover's design direction may cast it in new light. By putting the C-X75's design in the public spotlight, Jaguar Land Rover could be preparing us for the SUV's arrival. But then that could prove entirely speculative at this point. The model is set to slot in, size-wise, beneath the new F-Pace, and join a new wave of electric crossovers coming to market. The Tesla Model X will be first when it launches next year, and Audi is expected to launch its Q6 E-Tron Quattro in 2018. The Jaguar could split the difference and surface as soon as 2017. Volvo is also tipped to be preparing an electric crossover based on the XC90 to follow in 2019 as well. It may be too early to speculate on the electric powertrain that will motivate the new Jaguar, tipped to be dubbed E-Pace. However reports that parent company Tata is developing lightweight electric in-wheel hub motors could give us an idea of the direction in which Jaguar could head. Expect it to borrow its aluminum platform from the XE and F-Pace, with production potentially to be undertaken by Magna Steyr in Austria. Of course, the E-Pace won't be the company's only EV. It has several prototypes in the works, and we can expect it to roll out additional production models in the coming year.

2014 Jaguar XJR unleashed just ahead of New York show [w/video]

Just a week after teasing us with the first image of the car, and mere hours before revealing it to the public at the New York Auto Show, Jaguar has pulled the wraps off of its 2014 XJR super sedan.
The British automaker has confirmed that the XJR will be kicking out a full 550-horsepower and 502 pound-feet of torque from its supercharged 5.0-liter V8, affording the sedan a 0-60 mile per hour sprint of 4.4 seconds and a top speed of 174 miles per hour. A ZF eight-speed automatic transmission will still allow for respectable fuel economy, as Jag estimates ratings of 15 miles per gallon city and 23 highway.
Newly tuned dampers and stiffer spring rates, along with an electronically controlled differential should ensure that the massive power of the engine isn't wasted in transition to the road. Jaguar has also tweaked steering software and hydraulics, with the goal of increased road feel, response and overall feedback. 20-inch signature wheels carry wide Pirelli rubber (265-section up front, 295 in back) to keep the XJR planted.