Jaguar’s “most important car” has a play on London’s streets.
The Jaguar I-Pace, the show-stopping concept car that left visitors breathless during its Los Angeles Motor Show debut last year, has reached an important milestone in its development, showing off its abilities on the streets of London.
With a production model slated for a 2018 debut, the I-Pace has been described by Jaguar’s design director Ian Callum as “the most important car since the E-Type,” and will herald a new age for Coventry. “The production version is critically important to the future success of the Jaguar brand,” he added. Powered by two electric motors (one on each axle), the I-Pace packs 294kW of power and 700Nm(!) of torque, which will launch the e-SUV from rest to 100km/h in “around 4-seconds.” And while it is a sibling to the existing F-Pace, the I-Pace sits on brand-new architecture to accommodate the drivetrain, and is smaller overall.
On the public drive, Callum was very chatty about the I-Pace’s reception. “The feedback on the I-Pace concept has been fantastic. With the 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 with the enthusiasm for our first electric vehicle, and has been beyond all my expectations.”
With a driving range of more than 500km (based on official testing cycles), the I-Pace packs a 90kWh lithium-ion battery that Jaguar says can be charged from flat to 80% in 90-minutes via a 50kW DC charger. Jaguar assures that, despite this being the first full electric-vehicle, this will be “a true Jaguar.”
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