► Jaguar F-Pace makes first public outing
► New Jag crossover leads Team Sky convoy
► Chris Froome cycles with new 4×4
Jaguar is becoming adept at publicity stunts in all walks of life: from revealing F-types in Hollywood studios to helicoptering new saloons over the River Thames in London. So it should come as no surprise that the new 2016 Jaguar F-Pace led Team Sky during Le Grand Départ at the start of the 2015 Tour de France.
It’s not your average support car: this is the first time that Jag has shown its production F-Pace in public, albeit in lightly disguised late prototype form. The camo in question here is based on the Team Sky strip and the carbon material of their bikes.
See the official video of the F-Pace at #TDF2015 here.
What can we see on the F-Pace support car?
It’s now clear that the F-Pace repeats the aesthetic of the CX-17 concept car. The SUV won’t be formerly shown until the September 2015 Frankfurt motor show, but the camouflage of earlier prototypes we scooped is gradually peeling away.
Of particular interest is the SVO-developed quick release bike rack, designed to carry and unload Team Sky’s Pinarello Bolide TT race bikes in super-efficient manner.
We hope they launch this for real; imagine a world in which Jag-driving dads no longer clipped their nails and pinched their thumbs as they struggled to load up the family bikes for a weekend away…
When can we see the Jaguar crossover with Chris Froome and co?
The Team Sky SUV was one of a number of support cars provided by Jaguar at the start of the 2015 Tour in Utrecht, the Netherlands on Saturday 4 July 2015. Jaguar estimates that two billion people around the globe watched the first stage.
Team Sky Head of technical operations Carsten Jeppesen said: ‘The atmosphere in Utrecht was incredible. The Netherlands has a huge passion for cycling and right from the moment we arrived at the start line, you could feel the excitement. The appearance of Jaguar’s F-Pace prototype definitely added to the hype today – you could see it made a big impact with the crowds.’