PARIS MOTOR SHOW: Jaguar confirms XF wagon

Jaguar sprung a surprise when it showed a photo of the second-generation XF Sportbrake on the big screen during its presentation at the Paris motor show overnight Aussie time.

Then Jaguar Australia sprung a surprise of its own, confirming it will be sold in Australia, making it the first ever passenger car-based station wagon to be offered by the brand here.

No detail was issued with the single photo of the camouflaged XF Sportbrake that flashed up on the big screen, except for the confirmation by global sales director Andy Goss that it would be launched internationally in 2017.

"There are going to be more additions to the Jaguar family in 2017 and I can confirm that one of these will be the new XF Sportbrake," Goss told the media.

Prototypes of the new XF Sportbrake are already undergoing testing and development on UK roads ahead of its launch.

The Sportbrake will add to a tiny pool of traditional luxury wagons sold in Australia. Others include the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-class and CLS-class.

But how many are still on-sale when the XF arrives in late 2017 or early 2018 is a moot point, considering the emergence of SUVs and cross-overs including the E-class All-Terrain launched in Paris.

"The car will be in production 2017 and once it's confirmed and we know what date then we will be taking it in Australia," Jaguar Land Rover Australia spokesman James Scrimshaw confirmed to motoring.com.au.

"We haven't priced it, we haven't gone through any of that yet, but as soon as we can we will take it on and add it to the model line-up.

"It's the first time we have had a wagon in Australia," he added. "We didn't take the X-Type and we didn't take the previous XF and they were the last two, so it will be the first time."

Scrimshaw explained the u-turn from the first generation XF was mostly due to a different attitude within the Australian management, which is riding on the back of a dramatic sales growth as new models including the XE and F-Pace arrive.

Year on year, Jaguar sales in Australia are up an incredible 194.2 per cent.

"We have different management and they are open to all new ideas," said Scrimshaw. "Our previous management said no from the beginning, that we weren't going to take it.

"[Now] there is a decision been made that we are going to look at everything we can.

"We are trying to expand the business and while the Sportbrake may not be a volume seller anything like F-Pace, it's still another avenue.

"The car is going to look. Anything [Jaguar chief designer] Ian Callum does is good."

While nothing official is yet know about the powertrain line-up of the XF Sportbrake, European media reports suggest a similar line-up of petrol and turbo-diesel four-cylinder and six-cylinder engines to the sedan, including the new Ingenium engines.

It should also be available – in Europe at least – with the option of all-wheel drive.

Pricing is expected to cop a mild surcharge over the sedan, which currently spreads in price from $82,800 to $128,200 (excluding the high-performance V8 models).

Scrimshaw said the Australian preference would be for V6 engines.

"That would make sense to have that in Australia because we sell more V6s than we do four cylinder in XF.

"We see that is where the market is, but the product planners will make the ultimate decision based on the price they can get each car for."