What's the news?
We had been told that it would never be made, and that the F-Pace would essentially cover the same territory, but Jaguar has relented and decided to give us a new XF Sportbrake estate.
We don't have any technical details of the car as yet, other than that it uses the same lightweight aluminium chassis as the XF saloon, and shares its 2.0-litre 'Ingenium' petrol and diesel engines, as well as V6 diesel and supercharged V6 petrol derivatives. We do have some pretty pictures of it, though, as Jaguar has decided to give the new Sportbrake a first official showing on court at Wimbledon. Sort of. Actually, it's an outline of the new Sportbrake, marked out in the famous white chalk lines of Centre Court.
Jaguar Director of Design Ian Callum watched as ground staff transformed the venue's famous white lines under the expert eye of Head Groundsman Neil Stubley.
Ian Callum said: "With XF Sportbrake we've created a silhouette which sweeps towards the rear, almost into the distance, and really gives the car a sense of speed and sportiness. It will bring new levels of practicality to the range without sacrificing the dynamic design and agile handling our customers expect."
Neil Stubley said: "Ian and I come from very different professions but the roles of Head Groundsman and Design Director at Jaguar have one thing in common - our dedication to achieving perfect precise lines. If we get one line out of place, the whole world will see it, so it's vital that we achieve 100 per cent precision with every line we draw."
Thankfully, Jaguar also showed off a top-down photo of the car, just to prove it's real. We can't say much other than that it looks to have similarly sleek styling as the previous version, and a vast panoramic roof.
Sales of the new XF Sportbrake will start in the summer.