New Jaguar XF Sportbrake wagon confirmed

Just days after the all-new Jaguar XF sedan was revealed to the world via a thrilling high-wire stunt in London, one of Jaguar's most senior executives has confirmed the return of the wagon or Sportbrake version.

Although Jaguar's global brand director, Steven De Ploey, wouldn't be drawn on timing, he confirmed to motoring.com.au: "We have currently the Sportbrake in the pipeline".

Penned under the watchful eye of Jaguar's design director Ian Callum, who previously headed design at Aston Martin, the all-new large luxury sedan makes its global debut this week at the 2015 New York motor show, and the evolutionary styling changes will translate to the wagon version.

Aimed at the European market, where wagons sometimes outsell their sedan counterparts, the new-generation XF Sportbrake is unlikely to be offered in Australia, as the current version was never given the green light here.

"At this point there's no plan to bring to the [new] Sportbrake model to Australia," said Tim Krieger, Jaguar Land Rover Australia's general manager, communications and public relations.

Quizzed over whether there was any talk of XF Sportbrake being killed off and replaced by the new Jaguar F-PACE SUV launching in 2016, De Ploey didn't mince his words: "No".

"The F-PACE is a performance crossover that exists in its own right," he stated.

"In terms of replacement of the wagon version [of XF], we'll stick to the Sportbrake. This [F-PACE] is an addition to the range, not a replacement of what is coming in terms of other XF derivatives."

The XF sedan is due to launch in Australia in the first quarter of 2016, powered by a range of diesel and petrol engines and fitted with the company's latest infotainment system dubbed InControl, which is compatible with both Apple and Android smart phones.