Jaguar F-Pace name confirmed for luxury sports crossover

Jaguar has confirmed its first ever crossover model will be called the F-Pace.

Announced on the eve of the Detroit auto show, Jaguar says the F-Pace takes inspiration from the F-Type sports car in both name and nature.

“The Jaguar F-Pace … represents a perfectly judged balance of style, performance and practicality,” Jaguar design director Ian Callum said.

“It offers a unique combination of Jaguar sports car-inspired exterior design, fused beautifully with a thoroughly practical and spacious luxury interior. The F-Pace is our family sports car.”

Callum said demand for a production version of the C-X17 crossover concept that originally debuted almost 18 months ago at the 2013 Frankfurt motor show made the decision to build the car an obvious one.

“We just had to make it a reality.”

In an interview with CarAdvice in March, Jaguar chief designer for exteriors Matt Beavan admitted car makers “can’t survive without cars like this [crossovers and SUVs]“.

Jaguar released a teaser image of the F-Pace badge (pictured top) overnight, but will not unveil the car in Detroit this week. It’s believed the production model will break cover either at the Geneva motor show in March or April’s New York auto show, before going on sale globally, including in Australia, in 2016.

The Jaguar F-Pace will be based on the British luxury car maker’s new iQ[Al] aluminium platform, which it will share with the all-new mid-size XE and next-generation XF large car, and also feature Jaguar Land Rover’s new Ingenium family of turbocharged petrol and diesel engines.

The F-Pace will go head to head with fellow mid-size premium SUVs, including the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and the upcoming Mercedes-Benz GLC.

The design of the production model is expected to closely mirror that of the sleek, muscular concept.