Here comes Range Rover’s Evoque cabrio

Good news for fashionable urbanites with a penchant for al fresco off-roading: there's a Range Rover Evoque convertible on the way!

Bad news for fashionable urbanites with a penchant for al fresco off-roading: the Range Rover Evoque convertible isn't arriving until 2016!

Yes, Land Rover has today confirmed it will bring what it describes as ‘the world's first premium compact SUV convertible' to market next year.

How has the Brit firm chosen to mark this important announcement? By, um, driving a camouflaged prototype Evoque cabrio through London's new ‘Crossrail' underground tunnel. We're not sure why.

Beyond these zebra-print images, Land Rover is staying mighty quiet on any technical details. But you can be sure the Evoquabrio (no, it definitely won't be called that) will get JLR's full suite of ‘Ingenium' modular engines, the first of which reach the facelifted Evoque hard-top in just a few months - and of course that facelifted, gappier front end.

Land Rover hasn't confirmed whether the Evoque convertible will employ a fabric roof or folding hard-top. However, the prototype appears to use the former, and we'd expect the production version to feature a soft roof that retracts below the flat rear deck. Bootspace, it's safe to say, will be limited.

You'll remember we saw an Evoque cabrio concept at the Geneva show back in 2012. The real thing will land four year later, presumably just in time for 2016's glorious, balmy summer.

Reckon LR's onto a winner with this SUVertible? Or will it be another Nissan Murano CrossCabrio?