A pair of firsts for Land Rover: the 2011 Evoque will be the brand's first crossover and its first front-drive-based vehicle.

Land Rover’s first crossover-utility vehicle, and the first product from the British maker to adopt a front-wheel-drive powertrain, has been formally unveiled on the grounds of London’s Kensington Palace, a part of the 40th anniversary celebration of the U.K. maker’s flagship Range Rover SUV.

The Range Rover Evoque is the eagerly-awaited and much-discussed production version of the Land Rover LRX show car first unveiled two years ago at the North American International Auto Show, in Detroit.

“This is the smallest, lightest, most fuel-efficient addition to the Land Rover line-up ever,” declared the maker’s Managing Director Phil Popham, who stressed Land Rover’s goal of “broadening our appeal” with the Evoque.

Land Rover Design Director Gerry McGovern with his new assistant, Victoria Beckham.

The name itself is reminiscent of a Cadillac concept vehicle of a decade ago, the Evoq concept eventually becoming the maker’s 2-seat XLR hardtop convertible roadster.  Apparently, though both makers hear a sound that is “sophisticated,” according to Popham, adding that it “could cross the barrier of language,” no easy task considering the maker plans to sell the Range Rover Evoque in 160 countries.

The Thursday event was notably light on details about the new Evoque, short of its name.  Land Rover promises more when the new crossover is officially debuted to the public at September’s Paris Motor Show.

What TheDetroitBureau.com has learned is that the 2011 Land Rover Evoque will initially be build in 4-wheel-drive configuration but will later become available as a front-drive model.  A hybrid model is also under development, though it’s not expected to reach market until around 2013.

In an unexpected twist, Land Rover’s chief designer, Gerry McGovern announced that singer/fashionistic/soccer wife Victoria Beckham will work with the automaker on future product design and marketing efforts, thought her precise role beyond posing in front of the LRX at Kensington Palace wasn’t specified.

The basic design of the LRX picks up where the Range Rover Sport leaves off.  One of the more distinctive visual details is what McGovern describes as a “floating roof line.”  It’s unclear if the nearly all-glass roof shown at the palace preview will be standard or optional.  Other distinctive cues include the more crossover-like sloping nose, with its hexagonal grille and pinched headlights.

Land Rover officials note that the addition of Evoque production at the Halewood plant will result in the creation of about 1,000 new jobs.  About 80% of the production will be for export, added Popham, “which is great news for the U.K. auto industry.”

And a successful launch would be good news for the struggling Land Rover, which has been hard-hit by the global automotive slowdown, as well as rising fuel prices and tightening fuel economy standards.  The brand desperately needs a high-mileage offering to meet both the 2016 U.S. CAFE standard, which boosts a maker’s fleet mileage to 35.5 mpg, as well as strict new European Union CO2 emissions rules.

Like its sibling luxury brand, Jaguar, Land Rover is now owned by India’s Tata Motors, which purchased the pair from Ford Motor Co. in 2008.

Look for the first Range Ranger Evoque to reach U.S. showrooms in autumn 2011