OFFICIAL: Jaguar C-X17 Crossover Concept – Frankfurt 2013

The Jaguar SUV/Jaguar Crossover concept – the C-X17 – has been revealed this afternoon in Frankfurt previewing a possible future Jaguar Crossover.

Jaguar has had to suffer its new Crossover Concept filtering out online in recent days, but the official reveal has now taken place in Frankfurt and the C-X17 is a convincing effort at the first Crossover in Jaguar’s history.

But as much as anything, the C-X17 is about trumpeting Jaguar’s new, lightweight aluminium platform – iQ[Al] – as it is about showcasing a new Jaguar Crossover.

Despite the fact that we all wanted to know if Ian Callum and his team could pull off a Jaguar Crossover without devaluing the Jaguar Brand (which they seem to have done), what we really wanted to know is when the new Crossover will arrive in Jaguar showrooms.

But Jaguar are making no claims about that – although it’s almost certain to arrive as one of the variants when the new small Jaguar itself arrives, based on the same underpinnings – so we really have to take the C-X17 as just a way of launching Jaguar’s new platform. For now, at least.

Despite that, the C-X17 is interesting and much of what it offers will make a production Crossover at some point.

That includes the strong family themes, with the XJ and XF featured in the nose and the F-Type at the rear, the muscular haunches and the sleek, elongated profile that manages to be a chunk longer than the Range Rover Evoque but sits just as low.

Inside is pure concept, with four individual seats and a statement panoramic roof, with masses of leather, lots of touch-sensitive surfaces, a surfeit of buttons and even a pair of fold-out picnic chairs in the boot.

We don’t know what actually powers the C-X17 Concept, but Jaguar talk of it being able to offer a range of engines from a new 4-cylinder under development offering sub-100g/km emissions all the way up to proper performance Jaguar ‘R’ models. Which all sounds mighty promising.

The Jaguar Crossover also gets brake-based torque vectoring and intelligent all-wheel drive which will give proper Jaguar road manners whilst still allowing the sure-footedness and grip you’d expect from a 4×4.

But however desirable the Jaguar Crossover is, it won’t arrive – in any form – until Jaguar’s new small saloon arrives – with the same iQ[Ai] platform – in 2015.

But when it does – and doubtless we’ll see saloon, estate, coupe, convertible and crossover Jaguars off the same platform – Jaguar should start to close the current gap between its sales and those of Land Rover.