The forthcoming Jaguar SUV, tipped to appear at the Frankfurt motor show next month, has again been spotted on UK roads.
Snapped near Jaguar Land Rover’s Gaydon R&D headquarters in Warwickshire, the prototype combines Jaguar’s new compact aluminium platform with a one-off body that gives some early clues to the final form of the car.
Autocar sources have said that the crossover is due “in 2016”, but this mule looks little more than 18 months from production, suggesting that it could arrive in spring 2015.
The Jaguar SUV is based on the same new ‘compact’ Premium Lightweight Architecture as its saloon sister model. Under the skin of this prototype is Jaguar’s new turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 petrol engine. There’s expected to be a choice of rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive on the final model.
Autocar understands that this mule is an early engineering car, which is testing both the SUV’s version of the compact Jaguar running gear (which has wider tracks and raised-height suspension) and the engine’s cooling and calibration.
The one-off hatchback bodywork, which uses XF rear lights, is far from the final styling, but it does give clues to the final shape because of the aerodynamic need to simulate the correct roofline and shaping of the rear end.
This scoop shot shows just how compact the production saloon and crossover models will be. It’s thought that Jaguar has consciously decided to exploit the advantages of the company’s unique bonded and riveted aluminium structure by building a small car family that doesn’t suffer the middle-age spread of other ‘compact’ premium cars.
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I want the negative toll
I want the negative troll heads to explain WHY it is ok for the like of BMW, Audi and Mercedes to have this type of car, but when Jaguar do it, they are right royally slagged off by you.
Jaguar are like any business, expand or die, they are expanding with great products and will continue to do so for some considerable while yet.
So, why is that you feel necessary to slag them off all the time ?
Good news
If they get anywhere near the hype of the Evoque, and they nail it together in the UK, and export most of them to the Far East/ US, great!
We need as many high priced exports as possible, and this weird pseudo-coupe-4x4 type of car seems hugely popular overseas.
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Of course Jaguar needs an SUV, whether you like it or not.
They sell 70,000 cars globally a year, which is pretty tiny, and only makes Jaguar a viable global player if they are subsidised by their sister company.
I'm afraid there is no middle ground where Jaguar can continue to 'be Jaguar' and still compete. Either they become a chocolate box pastiche manufacturer or they develop high-margin niche vehicles that are totally unlike anything they have made before.
I'm not saying it's right but they have to respond to the demands of the market to survive. A change is as good as a rest.