Jaguar teases XF ‘Sportbrake’ wagon

JAGUAR has teased the upcoming wagon version of its XF executive car, called Sportbrake, that is expected to make its world debut at the Geneva motor show in March next year.

Jaguar Australia product manager Andrew Chapman told GoAuto the Sportbrake was under review for import to Australia.

“We’re looking at the business case at present,” he said.

A festive image issued on Twitter depicts Father Christmas loading gifts into the Sportbrake’s rear cargo area, but the car’s rear half remains camouflaged as seen in ‘spy’ shots that emerged at the end of last month.

The earlier shots released via Twitter featured the camouflaged car on public roads emblazoned with a banner advertising the Sportbrake’s dedicated twitter feed, which served to officially confirm the much-rumoured car’s existence.

From top: Jaguar XF Sportbrake 'spy' shot, current Land Rover Freelander, current Range Rover Vogue.

Despite the camouflage, it is possible to tell the Sportbrake’s rear half has similar proportions to a Holden Sportwagon, but with a slightly steeper downward curve towards the tailgate.

The Sportbrake is likely to receive a similar engine line-up to the XF sedan, which includes 3.0-litre V6 petrol and diesel units, a naturally-aspirated 5.0-litre V8 and the recently-launched 2.2-litre four-cylinder diesel.

If Jaguar also decides to drop the XFR sedan’s supercharged V8 under the Sportbrake’s bonnet to create an XFR wagon, it will make an extremely rapid load-lugger, something which has been varyingly offered by the British brand’s German rivals.

The Jaguar wagon’s name, which references luxurious coach-built ‘shooting brake’ vehicles of the 1960s and 1970s, will also offer an alternative to the swoopy Mercedes-Benz CLS Shooting Brake that is due to go into production next year and could well jostle with the Jag for attention at Geneva.

Meanwhile, Jaguar’s sister brand within the Tata Motors empire, Land Rover, is preparing a facelifted Freelander and all-new Range Rover Vogue for release next year.

Land Rover Australia spokesman James Scrimshaw told GoAuto that management was “excited” about changes to the updated Freelander, which should arrive in Australia during the second half of this year carrying some features from the recently-launched Range Rover Evoque.

Mr Scrimshaw said the company also hoped the new Range Rover Vogue, said to be about 450kg lighter than the current car, would make its first Australian appearance at the Sydney show in October.

He suggested the Vogue’s world debut could be at Moscow in August or Paris in September – with a local launch aimed at the end of 2012.