diff --git a/manifests/compute/libvirt.pp b/manifests/compute/libvirt.pp
index 12d4c4aaa..34d17cce6 100644
--- a/manifests/compute/libvirt.pp
+++ b/manifests/compute/libvirt.pp
@@ -23,6 +23,12 @@
 #   Defaults to 'host-model' if libvirt_virt_type is set to either
 #   kvm or qemu, otherwise defaults to 'none'.
 #
+# [*libvirt_cpu_model*]
+#   (optional) The named libvirt CPU model (see names listed in
+#   /usr/share/libvirt/cpu_map.xml). Only has effect if
+#   cpu_mode="custom" and virt_type="kvm|qemu".
+#   Defaults to undef
+#
 # [*libvirt_disk_cachemodes*]
 #   (optional) A list of cachemodes for different disk types, e.g.
 #   ["file=directsync", "block=none"]
@@ -87,6 +93,7 @@ class nova::compute::libvirt (
   $vncserver_listen                           = '127.0.0.1',
   $migration_support                          = false,
   $libvirt_cpu_mode                           = false,
+  $libvirt_cpu_model                          = undef,
   $libvirt_disk_cachemodes                    = [],
   $libvirt_inject_password                    = false,
   $libvirt_inject_key                         = false,
@@ -185,6 +192,22 @@ class nova::compute::libvirt (
     'libvirt/inject_partition': value => $libvirt_inject_partition;
   }
 
+  # cpu_model param is only valid if cpu_mode=custom
+  # otherwise it should be commented out
+  if $libvirt_cpu_mode_real == 'custom' {
+    validate_string($libvirt_cpu_model)
+    nova_config {
+      'libvirt/cpu_model': value => $libvirt_cpu_model;
+    }
+  } else {
+    nova_config {
+      'libvirt/cpu_model': ensure => absent;
+    }
+    if $libvirt_cpu_model {
+      warning('$libvirt_cpu_model requires that $libvirt_cpu_mode => "custom" and will be ignored')
+    }
+  }
+
   if size($libvirt_disk_cachemodes) > 0 {
     nova_config {
       'libvirt/disk_cachemodes': value => join($libvirt_disk_cachemodes, ',');
diff --git a/spec/classes/nova_compute_libvirt_spec.rb b/spec/classes/nova_compute_libvirt_spec.rb
index 30ccf8968..0f404bf4f 100644
--- a/spec/classes/nova_compute_libvirt_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/classes/nova_compute_libvirt_spec.rb
@@ -37,6 +37,7 @@ describe 'nova::compute::libvirt' do
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('DEFAULT/compute_driver').with_value('libvirt.LibvirtDriver')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/virt_type').with_value('kvm')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/cpu_mode').with_value('host-model')}
+      it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/cpu_model').with_ensure('absent')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/disk_cachemodes').with_ensure('absent')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/inject_password').with_value(false)}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/inject_key').with_value(false)}
@@ -53,6 +54,7 @@ describe 'nova::compute::libvirt' do
         { :libvirt_virt_type                          => 'qemu',
           :vncserver_listen                           => '0.0.0.0',
           :libvirt_cpu_mode                           => 'host-passthrough',
+          :libvirt_cpu_model                          => 'kvm64',
           :libvirt_disk_cachemodes                    => ['file=directsync','block=none'],
           :remove_unused_base_images                  => true,
           :remove_unused_kernels                      => true,
@@ -66,6 +68,7 @@ describe 'nova::compute::libvirt' do
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('DEFAULT/compute_driver').with_value('libvirt.FoobarDriver')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/virt_type').with_value('qemu')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/cpu_mode').with_value('host-passthrough')}
+      it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/cpu_model').with_ensure('absent')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/disk_cachemodes').with_value('file=directsync,block=none')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('DEFAULT/vncserver_listen').with_value('0.0.0.0')}
       it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('DEFAULT/remove_unused_base_images').with_value(true)}
@@ -81,6 +84,16 @@ describe 'nova::compute::libvirt' do
       )}
     end
 
+    describe 'with custom cpu_mode' do
+      let :params do
+        { :libvirt_cpu_mode  => 'custom',
+          :libvirt_cpu_model => 'kvm64' }
+      end
+
+      it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/cpu_mode').with_value('custom')}
+      it { is_expected.to contain_nova_config('libvirt/cpu_model').with_value('kvm64')}
+    end
+
     describe 'with migration_support enabled' do
 
       context 'with vncserver_listen set to 0.0.0.0' do