Jaguar has confirmed the global unveiling of its first crossover at the Frankfurt Motor Show scheduled from 17 to 27 September, 2015.
This is Jaguar's first ever attempt at an SUV, and the crossover gave an early glimpse as the official support vehicle of Team Sky during the 2015 Tour de France.
When launched, the F-Pace will be pitted against the Porsche Macan, Audi Q5 and BMW X3 with an expected price of close to Rs 60 lakh. This also means that the F-Pace will go up against tLand Rover Discovery Sport.
Since Jaguar and Land Rover brand is owned by Tata Motors, many wonder if the launch of F-Pace might initiate an in-house competition. However, Jaguar makes it clear that the F-Pace is more of a performance crossover designed around people who love driving rather than a traditional SUV. Even the name -- F-Pace -- is in line with the F-Type sports car and distances it from the more rugged products offered by sister company Land Rover.
Developed using Jaguar's Lightweight Aluminium Architecture, the new F-Pace will feature double wishbone front suspension and Integral Link rear suspension. The suspension combination will make the crossover responsive and ensures that the impact and undulations from any terrain will be handled with ease.
The crossover features electric power-assisted steering system, which responds to the slightest input from the steering wheel to wheels immediately, giving a precise steering feedback. The F-Pace will also feature the torque vectoring technology first developed for F-Type. The technology will provide controlled braking on the inside rear wheel and will feed more power to the outside rear wheel at the same time helping it to increase steering performance and better braking. This system will work in tandem with the torque on-demand all-wheel drive system in F-Pace.
Under the hood, a 2.0-litre turbo diesel and 2.0 turbocharged petrol engines -- both from the advanced new Ingenium engine family -- is expected in various states of tune. A supercharged 3.0-litre V6 at the top of the range is also expected.
Global sale is expected to commence in early 2016 and the F-Pace is expected to make it to India in the second half of 2016.
