It’s not at all unusual for carmakers to hide the platform and mechanical gear of an upcoming vehicle under the reshaped body of a different model from another brand within the same group, which seems to be the case with this Range Rover test mule. Just like the other tester we saw in Sweden last month, a license plates check tells us that this prototype is registered as a Jaguar in the UK, but instead of a 2.0L engine, it has 3.0-liter petrol mill.
Even though Jaguar has been trotting around its C-X17 SUV Concept from show to show over the past six months, the British brand has not yet formally announced a decision on production. However, the appearance of these two early development mules confirms the firm’s interest in building the car.
There have been conflicting reports about whether Jaguar will use the lightweight aluminum platform developed for the new XE premium compact sedan (but teased through the C-X17 study) or if it will modify one of Land Rover’s architectures, but the engine range should comprise of JLR’s new Ingenium four-cylinder petrol and diesel units along with more potent V6 mills.
It’s not yet clear if Jaguar will offer the SUV exclusively with all-wheel drive or if it will also produce more fuel-efficient and lighter two-wheel drive variants.
If all goes well, we should see Jaguar’s first ever SUV sometime in 2016.
By John Halas
Photo Credits: CarPix for CarScoopS
PHOTO GALLERY
