The Jaguar I-Pace will go on sale in the UK in March next year – the same month that it receives its world debut at the Geneva motor show – and it will be with customers from the summer.
The model is Jaguar’s first electric car and built on a bespoke aluminium-intensive architecture. It will be the second Jaguar model to be built overseas, production due to take place by contract manufacturing firm Magna in Graz, Austria, where the E-Pace is also being built.
The I-Pace is now in the final stages of testing at the ‘tooling try-out’ stage, where the prototypes, like the one pictured here, are made using production tooling for the first time and are 99% representative of the finished car’s hardware.
As the pictures show, the I-Pace remains true to the design of the concept car of the same name a year ago, as a near 4.7m-long five-seat SUV. Jaguar is still not disclosing statistics about the car’s performance or range but, as with the design, it is promising the engineering will stay true to the concept car.
The concept’s range was in excess of 310 miles and it dispatched 0-60mph in a claimed 4.0sec. It had two electric motors for a combined 395bhp and 516lb ft, and a 90kWh lithium ion battery pack mounted on the floor. Jaguar is targeting an 80% charge of the batteries in the time it would take to have a coffee break.
Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy racing series to support Formula E next year
The major electrical components, such as the lithium ion battery pack and twin electric motors, are all Jaguar’s own in-house design and the electric motors are said to be the most power dense of their size on the market.
The I-Pace’s lead powertrain engineer, Simon Patel, said the final tweaks to the calibration of the electric drivetrain are being made to ready it for production, but the major development was now complete.
Join the debate
Add your comment
But how much? a 90kw/h
But how much? a 90kw/h battery isn't going to be cheap.
0-60 in 4 something
....is never cheap in a car this size/segment.
I'm surprised...
...that JLR let Jaguar build the I-Pace, and not let the first model off of that EV SUV platform be a Land Rover model! They will produce a Ranger Rover from those bones (economies of scale demand it!), so I guess the question is when and what will it look like? The other question that I have is, while an EV sedan makes sense due to its in city driving and long trips. But with an SUV, if one were to use it as it was originally intended (e.i.: for long treks into the great out doors with the family, well away from civilization), where would one CHARGE an EV SUV under those circumstances? That could easily turn into a oneway drive, with a long walk home with the wife and children!
In the UK at least
" long treks into the great out doors with the family, well away from civilization" just how far can you be from a power point in the UK?
Also why are people so hung-up on the SUV tag, when a Mercedes or BMW put a AMG-x or M-xxx tag on every other car they produce I don't remember the anger in every other post.
Just think of it as a THB (Tall Hatch Back) then read about the performance, fuel costs, quiet smooth running and see how great and advanced a British car marque might be producing.
It's an SUV...?
Could have fooled me.
Any road, sounds like the drivetrain of this thing could be something quite special. Let's hope it doesn't ride too hard, has good range and is reliable.