Jaguar XF Sportbrake

These are the first pictures of the new Jaguar XF estate – which will be badged the Sportbrake. The new, more practical XF has started testing near Jaguar's base in Coventry. Finally giving Jaguar a rival to the Audi A6 Avant, BMW 5 Series Touring and the Mercedes E Class estate, the XF Sportbrake will go on sale towards the end of 2012. We can expect to see official pictures of the car early next year ahead of its debut at the Geneva Motor Show. Although this protoype wears some disguise, the rear end of the Sportbrake will be stylish and sleek with a coupe-style C-pillar giving the design some drama. The rear lights will be inspired by the LED units from the XF saloon.  The rest of the car is standard Jaguar XF, but in the back expect the usual array of estate car-style split/fold rear seats, and possibly even a twin-height boot floor. As the name suggests, the XF is not designed to be a huge estate car like the Mercedes E-Class Estate, which has 695 litres with the rear seats up and 1,950 litres with them folded. Instead, the XF Sportbrake is likely to approach the Audi A6 Avant (565/1,680) and the BMW 5 Series Touring (560/1,670). Engines will be carried over from the current XF with the range kicking off with a 2.2-litre diesel, along with V6 diesel and V8 petrols. A high performance R version has not yet been confirmed, however, given its more practical focus, the Sportbrake is expected to be the first XF to get four-wheel drive – following on from plans revealed last week.