The feline-faced automaker Jaguar has revealed its first ever electric vehicle – the Jaguar I-PACE – on the streets of London’s famous Olympic Park. It is expected to make a physical appearance later in the year and be seen on the roads in the second half of 2018.
The press release didn’t say much, but some bloke from Jag said, “The feedback on the I-PACE Concept has been fantastic. With the I-PACE Concept we’ve torn up the rule book to create a vehicle with supercar inspired aesthetics, sports car performance and SUV space, in one electric package. It has surprised people and the enthusiasm for our first electric vehicle has been beyond all my expectations. He also added by saying, “Driving the concept on the streets is really important for the design team. It’s very special to put the car outside and in the real-world. You can see the true value of the I-PACE’s dramatic silhouette and powerful proportions when you see it on the road, against other cars. The I-PACE Concept represents the next generation of battery electric vehicle design. For me, the future of motoring has arrived.”
The electric Jaguar I-PACE has been designed to be a bit of a marathoner with an expected range of more than 500km (NEDC cycle) from the 90kWh lithium-ion battery. It is also claimed to hit the 100 km/h mark in around 4 seconds…so the competition is going to be neck and neck with the Tesla Model X. There is also other good news, thanks to quick and easy charging 80 per cent of the battery can be charged in just 90 minutes using 50kW DC charging.
Propulsion is effect of placing compact and lightweight electric motors at the front and rear axles, which generate a combined output of 400 PS and 700 Nm of torque. It with also come with advantage of all-wheel drive.
From these pictures the Jaguar I-PACE will feature a blacked out hexagonal grille upfront with a screamer badge at the centre and those new-age LED headlamps that were seen on the XF sedan. We like the concealed door handles but the large (Jaguar branded?) wheels are a littel too flamboyant for our taste. Meanwhile the rear end will feature an evolution of the signature roundel lamps, an interesting black leaper badge and ofcourse, no tail pipes. This is a ZEV or Zero-Emission Vehicle after all.
On the inside, besides the familiar 3-spoke steering wheel and possibly a 12.3 full-colour customizable instrument cluster everything else seems brand new. The centre console will have an Panamera-like sloping architecture that will feature two touch screens for the infotainment. Look closely and you will also see a sequential arrangement of buttons for the transmission and an interesting felt-like material for the dashboard upholstery. The sports seats with the fixed headrests though, are a nice, but remain questionable equipment for the production model.
