NEW YORK AUTO SHOW: Jaguar confirms crossover car

Development of a 'CUV' model line has been green lit by Jaguar, with plans for the US and Chinese markets
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Jaguar's sister brand Land Rover is well known for its SUVs and 4WDs, but that hasn't stopped the Leaping Cat from pawing tentatively at the SUV pool.

In an exclusive interview with Jaguar's design director, Ian Callum, the Carsales Network can confirm that a crossover vehicle is on the cards. Talking about the design of the soon-to-be unveiled 2012 model Jaguar XF, the former Aston Martin designer and now Jaguar design chief revealed that demand in China, along with other reasons, will result in a crossover.

"The reason for doing something like an SUV or a crossover is that people like AWD, but they also like the more commanding [driving] position. And we have investigated around the world which markets really would like to see a crossover and China's one of them, we can't ignore that one -- it's a huge market. And of course the US market still requires a strong crossover type of vehicle," said Callum.

It is believed that plans for a prestige crossover vehicle from Jaguar are still in the embryonic stages and the vehicle would not likely go on sale until at least 2015, with the Jaguar board rumoured to have given the project the green light.

While Jaguar purists may be displeased by the news of a high (ish) riding crossover/SUV with an all-wheel drive setup, Porsche faced robust criticism when it announced plans to build an SUV, the Cayenne, which first hit the streets in 2002. The Cayenne is now Porsche's biggest selling model and accounts for a large portion of the German car maker's revenue, and is even offered with a hybrid drivetrain.

"We have to consider these things," continued Callum, who added that all-wheel drive options would make their way onto existing models as well, expected to begin with the XJ and XF. "That's again where the world market is heading. It's quite interesting that AWD became popular for a while in the '70s and '80s, and then it seemed to fizzle out a bit. But now it seems to be coming back again for practical reasons and safety reasons.

"You get the snow belt for instance in the USA, and in the colder climes people like AWD for obvious reasons. It's clearly something we'll have to consider for the future. It'll become a norm in many ways for people to option AWD."

The Jaguar crossover vehicle is still in the very early stages of development, but full scale clay models are rumoured to have been commissioned already, suggesting that the design is already taking shape. The name of the new crossover/SUV model has not been divulged.

While the Jaguar crossover/SUV isn't likely to arrive before 2015, all-wheel drive versions of the XF and XJ could be on the market as early 2012 or 2013.

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