By way of Jaguar’s 80th birthday celebrations, Jaguar’s new SUV (shhhh you’re not supposed to call it that) - the F-Pace ‘crossover’ - did a high speed giant loop-the-loop at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week.

Jaguar Land Rover will be hoping that the new model – on sale next year – will also inject added pace in Jaguar’s sales.

The new model, which starts at around £34,000, is based on the well-received C-X17 concept car unveiled back in 2013. It will go on sale next year and will combine SUV looks with strong fuel efficiency and low emissions thanks to its aluminium intensive, lightweight construction and the new fuel-efficient Ingenium engines now being made at the i54 engine plant near Wolverhampton.

The new F-Pace (and new XF) draw on the platform underpinning the recent XE. Such models are critical to boosting Jaguar – and JLR – volumes, and have been seen as key gaps in the brand’s product offerings so far.

It’s not before time; as I’ve noted before, while Range Rover and Land Rover brands have roared ahead of late, Jaguar has underperformed, thanks in large part to some major gaps in its product range.

Before the XE and F-Pace, Jaguar’s recent range offered a sports cars and two executive saloons, in what are slower growth segments of the premium market. Sure, the beautiful F-Type had filled one gap, namely for a two-seater sports car that harks back to exciting E-Type times.

But there were still some glaring gaps in the Jaguar line up; notably in the form on an entry-level saloon to fight the BMW 3 –Series and Merc C-Class, and a crossover Jag that uses Range Rover’s advanced 4-wheel drive technology to target the rapidly expanding SUV market.

It’s no surprise that VW has just unveiled an extension of its SUV platform sharing strategy to include the Bentley Bentayga; Lamborghini will be next. And the Porsche Cayenne SUV (based on the same platform as the VW Touareg and the Audi Q7) was launched over a decade ago, and now makes up over a half of Porsche’s sales now.

The new Jaguar models are also seen as key for China, the firm’s biggest market. Here the Evoque and the Freelander have been best sellers for JLR. But with the SUV market there set to treble by 2020, Jaguar itself needs an SUV presence.

Jaguar’s design director Ian Callum pointed out to Autocar some time ago that “we were caught out with the C-XF concept and underdelivered; we now need to show things we know we can deliver.” They have indeed, and the F-Pace is aimed firmly at the Audi Q5 and BMW X3. It’s no surprise, as this the biggest and most rapidly growing segment for premium SUVs.

Looking at the pics of the F-Pace, it’s clear that design cues from a range of Jaguar models are evident. The front echoes the XJ with its large grille and slim headlights (that set-back grille in turn echoes earlier Jags). At the back, elements of the F-type sports car (in turn echoing the famous E-type) can be seen in the flat tail lights and rear haunches.

It’s unmistakenly a Jag, even if it’s an SUV, er crossover, and it will open up a whole new market.

As Callum has previously noted, “there is an entire generation of 15 to 25-year-olds that doesn’t care about sports cars or saloons… they aspire to own an SUV – especially in China… I’ve always resisted this type of car, but we sent a research team around the world, and it found this is what the world wants.”

This is backed up by independent research. IHS Automotive thinks that SUV sales will increase by 45% from last year through to 2020, and JLR themselves think that SUV sales globally could hit 20m by then. So expect more Jaguar crossovers in the future.

All of this is needed as JLR’s recent growth has been very much driven by Land Rover and Range Rover brands and Jaguar has effectively been an under-exploited brand. Over 80% of JLR’s annual sales currently come from the Land Rover/Range Rover brands.

With JLR thought to be targeting sales of at least 1 million a year by 2020 (I’d put the figure even higher), the new Jaguar models – including the F-Pace - will be a key part of expanding output.

Speth thinks that the F-Pace won’t take sales away from Range Rover. I think he’s right. Given Land Rover’s SUV expertise and Jaguar’s sporting heritage, there is a genuine synergy to be exploited here. That could appeal to rapidly growing markets around the world, without cannibalising Land Rover and Range Rover sales.

The real hope is that JLR’s recent success can become sustainable growth over the medium to long-term – for that Jaguar needs to play a much bigger role in helping the firm to grow; “every brand has to play its role” as JLR CEO Ralf Speth put it in the FT this week.

So far, signs look good. The new XE, which appeals to company car users in part through its low CO2 emissions, sold 16,000 units in the UK and continental Europe in the first three months of being on sale. Overall, Jaguar sales are up by 18% so far in 2015, with the new, lighter XF yet to hit the showrooms. The F-Pace should push Jaguar’s revival even further next year. The cat is back, it seems, and in some style.

Professor David Bailey works at the Aston Business School