SPY PICS: Jaguar XF Sportbrake on the loose

As Jaguar hones its next generation of XF-based station wagons – dubbed Sportbrake – for a European launch in mid-2017, Australia is lining up to see its first-ever wagon from the Tata-owned British car maker later in the same year, or in early 2018.

Following initial comments that the Jag wagon was highly unlikely for Australia, a surprise announcement at the Paris motor show indicated a change of heart within Jaguar Land Rover Australia.

The XF Sportbrake seen here was snapped during shakedown runs on the Nurburgring, where spy shooters are constantly lurking.

Heavily disguised, pre-production car clearly shows that the Sportbrake will be all Jaguar XF sedan from the B-pillar forward and will feature squared-off upper rear window lines, along with a sleek, sloping tailgate that fails to be properly concealed here.

The Sportbrake is expected to benefit from the same aluminium-intensive weight-reducing programme that characterises the current-generation XF sedans.

There's no reason to expect Australian versions of the BMW 5 Series competitor will feature anything other than the current range of powerplants including turbo-petrol and turbo-diesel power in four-cylinder and V6 configurations – although whether or not we get the AWD version expected for Europe remains to be seen. There are also rumours – though nothing solid as yet – of a hybrid version of the Sportbrake.