While Jaguar hasn’t formally made the announcement, brand director Steven de Ploey said the F-Pace will debut at the 2015 Frankfurt Motor Show in a recent interview with Autocar.
The Frankfurt show opens in September, which makes sense given Jaguar’s reported plans to put the F-Pace on sale sometime in calendar-year 2016, possibly as a 2017 model.
The production F-Pace is expected to stay close to the C-X17 concept that debuted at the 2017 Frankfurt Motor Show, and has made numerous other appearances since then.
Its car-like styling, and an emphasis on on-road handling over off-road ability, should help Jaguar differentiate it from the products of sister brand Land Rover.
Underneath the styling, the F-Pace will share engines with the Land Rover Discovery Sport, Jag’s XE sedan, and other recent models.
A mix of four-cylinder engines from the company’s new Ingenium line is expected, along with the 3.0-liter supercharged V6 that’s already used in a number of Jaguar Land Rover models.
The name, meanwhile, references the F-Type, as well as the “Grace, Pace, Space” ad tagline from the 1950s and ’60s.
In terms of size, the F-Pace will reportedly be larger than a Range Rover Evoque, but still considered a small vehicle, competing against the likes of the BMW X4 and Porsche Macan.
Some people will never get used to the idea of a Jaguar SUV, and looking at the bloated C-X17 concept, it’s hard not to blame them.
But if Jaguar can import the polish, driving feel, and tech from its other models – and not dilute them too much in the pursuit of SUV ruggedness – it just might have a hit on its hands.
Who knows, maybe someone at Jaguar with a sense of humor will shoehorn in a V8 to make an F-Pace R.
