22ND JUNE 2012, PARIS JAGUAR CARS, OFFICIAL SUPPLIER TO SKY PRO CYCLING (TEAM SKY), IS DELIGHTED TO CONGRATULATE BRADLEY WIGGINS AND TEAM SKY ON WINNING THE TOUR DE FRANCE. TEAM SKY HAS ACHIEVED AN HISTORIC DOUBLE BY PRODUCING THE FIRST BRITISH WINNER OF THE TOUR, WHILST ALSO RIDING FOR A BRITISH TEAM.
Victory was finally sealed during a thrilling time trial on the penultimate stage of the Tour, where Bradley Wiggins produced the performance of a lifetime to seal his hold on the race leader’s Yellow Jersey. The 2012 Tour has seen an imperious performance by Team Sky riders, securing the Yellow Jersey in a thrilling mountaintop finish on stage seven (where Team Sky rider Chris Froome also won the stage). The team managed to keep hold of the Jersey all the way to the final stage in Paris, where the team secured the perfect victory for sprinter Mark Cavendish, who now enters the top four stage winners in the history of the Tour de France.
Supporting the team’s performance during every stage of the race were Team Sky’s race support vehicles, two pre-production editions of the all new Jaguar XF Sportbrake. Chosen by the team due to their versatile capability and high performance, the XF Sportbrakes have been a very popular feature of the Tour convoy this year – the first time they have been seen on the road, prior to going on sale in October 2012.
Team Sky Team Principal, David Brailsford commented: “When we first put the team together in 2009, it was our stated aim to produce a British winner of the Tour De France. We dared to dream that within five years we could achieve that. We’re feeling pretty euphoric right now, and on behalf of all the team would like to thank Jaguar for being there right from the very start to support us”.
Jaguar Global Brand Director, Adrian Hallmark commented: “It is wonderful to see Bradley and Team Sky winning this legendary and iconic race. What an achievement for a British team on a global stage! We extend our warmest congratulations to everyone at Team Sky and look forward to the next race”.
JAGUAR XF SPORTBRAKE – At-a-glance
The XF Sportbrake is the most versatile derivative of the Jaguar XF.
It represents a compelling combination of elegance and capability – both practical and dynamic.
It extends Jaguar’s design leadership in a new direction to create a desirable, premium estate.
Remote-fold levers drop the 60:40 split rear seats (with integral ski-hatch) to create up to 1675 litres of load-space.
A full five-seater with an additional 48mm of rear headroom.
New rear air suspension allows for self-levelling while load carrying with no dynamic penalty.
Jaguar’s Adaptive Dynamics System – which continuously monitors the suspension and can adjust damping rates accordingly up to 500 times a second – is available on all XF Sportbrake derivatives.
Tailgate features ‘soft-close’ as standard, and can be specified with fully powered open/close functionality.
Acclaimed premium-quality interior materials used in the cabin are also a feature of the load-space.
Available with both Aero and Black styling packs from launch for additional on-the-road presence.
Driven by Jaguar’s refined, powerful and efficient range of four- and six-cylinder turbo-diesel engines.
Matches the XF saloon for both aerodynamics, torsional stiffness and dynamic handling ability.
A range of accessories – both internally mounted by floor rails and externally by roof rails – extends the versatility of the XF Sportbrake still further.
Available Autumn 2012.
Text by: Jaguar.
