Jaguar’s first all-electric production car, the I-Pace SUV, will go on sale in 2018 and has been previewed by the thinly-disguised Jaguar I-Pace Concept at this week’s 2016 LA Motor Show.
We’ll see the production version of the new Jaguar I-Pace towards the end of 2017 and not only will the name of the new car not change, it’ll look pretty much the same as this concept and that the basic performance stats will still hold true.
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Jaguar I-Pace performance: 395bhp and 300-mile range
Jaguar is claiming that the I-Pace will be able to drive over 300 miles on a single charge and be able to get from zero to 60mph in around four seconds. Price-wise Jaguar hinted the car will cost around 10-15% more than an equivalent version of it’s F-Pace sister SUV, so with the power and performance on offer, we’d expect a starting price of around £55,000.
The I-Pace features an all-new aluminium platform with the 90kWh lithium ion battery pack sat between the axles. Total power of 395bhp and 700Nm of torque is split equally across both axles, produced by two rare earth magnetic electric motors chosen for their compact characteristics that allow more space inside the cabin.
Much of the car’s hardware is derived from the F-Pace SUV, including the double-wishbone front suspension and the compact Integral Link rear suspension. The Lithium-Ion batteries have been developed in-house and use pouch cells for their energy density and efficiency. They’ll give 80 per cent charge in 90 minutes and 100 per cent in just over two hours from a 50kW DC charging point, and they sit low in the car to give the car a centre of gravity that’s 120mm lower than the F-Pace.
Weight is an issue – the I-Pace is expected to weigh around 2,100kg – but straight-line performance won’t be and Jaguar promises that the car will handle ‘as a Jaguar should’.
Jaguar I-Pace dimensions and boot space
So although the car is marginally smaller than the F-Pace (around 50mm shorter, 90mm lower and 40mm narrower) its wheelbase is 115mm longer meaning there’s more room inside. In fact, Jaguar says it’s got 10mm more kneeroom than a BMW 7 Series.
The 530-litre boot is 120 litres smaller than the F-Pace’s, while there’s an additional 28-litres of space under the bonnet. However, clever use of the interior’s flat floor means there’s also space for eight litres of storage between the front seats.
Jaguar I-Pace: design
The new car’s architecture, doing without the need to put an internal combustion engine at the front with all the associated bits, means Jaguar’s design director Ian Callum and his team have been able to produce a stunning and innovative design with hints of 2010’s C-X75 concept.
“Designers have been looking forward to electric cars for a long time,” Ian Callum told us. “They give you permission to do things that you can’t do when you have an internal combustion engine.”
“We started off with a skateboard-like platform that enabled us to bring the cab forward in spite of it being an SUV. The wheelbase was decided by the number and size of the batteries that we needed to fit in between the axles.”
The cab-forward design has enabled Callum to give the I-Pace strong haunches at the front of the car – like the C-X75, with a distinct dip in the bonnet line. There’s also a bonnet scoop towards the back to reduce drag.
In spite of the low front and short overhang, there’s a bold front grille framed by slim lights like on the F-Pace. “It’s important we establish the front as a Jaguar,” says Callum. “The headlights of today’s style have double J-blades – that’s something we’ll see more and more on Jaguars.”
Sweeping lines along the side and tapering waistline give the five-door SUV a coupé-like profile, leading to a sharply angled rear screen coated with a hydrophobic coating so there’s no need for a rear wiper.
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Rear vents sit where tailpipes would usually be, but channel air from the rear wheelarches to reduce drag. LED tail lights follow the design theme established on the F-Type sports car, XE and XF models, but are squared off for a more technical look.
“We’re relatively high at the back with quite square edges for optimum aerodynamics,” said Callum. And sure enough, the I-Pace has an impressively low drag coefficient for an SUV of 0.29.
Jaguar I-Pace technology and interior
In spite of the temptations created by the electrical architecture, Callum says that you still have to have familiar hardware inside the car. But around the traditional driving position are three screens: a 12-inch HD screen to display instruments, another 12-inch touchscreen on the floating centre console and a smaller 5.5-inch touchscreen below. There are even tiny screens in the rotary controllers that sit further down that centre control module.
There are plenty of delightful design details inside the I-Pace, with Jaguar’s bespoke lozenge pattern on everything from the leather seats to the speaker grilles, while laser-etched into the burr walnut dash are the words ‘Lovingly crafted by Jaguar. Est Coventry 1935’.
There’s also a British sense of humour to the Jaguar paw prints stitched into the seats, and the glove outline on the base of the glove box.
With Jaguar’s iType racing car contesting this season’s Formula E championship, the brand’s electric future is becoming clearer – especially with the promise of more hybrid and electric vehicles to follow the I-Pace to market in the coming years.
Tell us what you think of the Jaguar I-Pace Concept in the comments section below...
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