Jaguar to unveil concept SUV crossover in Frankfurt

Sorry, Jaguar purists, a crossover SUV is coming.

The British automaker confirmed over the weekend what had long been rumored: that a crossover was imminent.

Sunday’s announcement was thin on details other than Jaguar would be bringing a “concept study” to the Frankfurt Auto Show in Germany on Saturday.

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The vehicle, dubbed C-X17, “has been created as a design study” for what the brand could do with a new aluminum platform Jaguar has developed that will serve as the basis for future vehicles, the automaker said in a statement.

Jaguar wouldn’t confirm additional details on the concept, but don’t get too attached to the name. The F-Type two-seater originally bowed at the 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show in coupe form as the C-X16, and very little changed in its styling when the roadster went into production.

This means that despite the C-X17’s concept status, it’s very likely it will closely resemble what Jaguar has planned for the production SUV that is expected to go on sale as a 2015 or 2016 model.

Jaguar Land Rover has made it very clear that it wants to become a higher volume player in the luxury segment. Despite strong growth over the previous year, the brand sold just under 56,000 vehicles in the U.S. That’s a far cry from the 282,000 units that luxury sales leader BMW sold here in 2012.

Selling a crossover -- traditionally a high-volume and high-profit vehicle -- would help Jaguar. So, too, will a compact sedan in the vein of the BMW 3-Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Such a car has not been confirmed by Jaguar, though prototypes have been seen testing and an official announcement is expect in the coming months.

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