Jaguar will introduce new all-electric I-Pace SUV concept painted in red at the upcoming Geneva Motor Show. This EV produced by the British manufacturer will make its European debut, while the production model will go on sale in 2018. Even though the street ready car will probably arrive at the end of this year, it will be almost identical to the concept you can see in the photos, plus it will keep the I-Pace name.
2018 Jaguar I-Pace Price
In addition, this vehicle will come with the mostly unchanged performance and power figures, while the company stated that the new car would be about 10-15 percent more expensive compared to the F-Pace SUV, which means that the starting price will be around £55,000. Until the production model is ready, Jaguar is going to examine the market.
Powertrain
According to the carmaker, the range of the new 2018 Jaguar I-Pace will be at least 300 miles per charge, and it will go from 0 to 62 mph in approximately four seconds. The drivetrain consists of a 90 kWh lithium-ion battery and two electric motors for the complete output of 395 bhp and 700 Nm of torque. Because of the new platform, the I-Pace is based on and the compact size of the electric motors, there will be enough space inside the cabin.
Jaguar F-Pace SUV is the one that gave the new electric sibling the double-wishbone front suspension and the compact integral link rear suspension. The batteries use pouch cells for improved energy and efficiency, and they can reach 80% charge in an hour and a half and 100% in just two hours from the 50 kW DC charging point. Compared to the F-Pace, the I-Pace has a 120 mm lower center of gravity because of the batteries position. The curb weight of the new car will be around 2,100 kg, but despite that, Jaguar claims that handling will not be a problem at all.
Trunk Space and Dimensions
Even though when compared to the F-Pace, the length, height, and width of the I-Pace are reduced by around 50 mm, 90 mm, and 40 mm respectively, the new model will boast a lot of room inside due to its 115 mm longer wheelbase. According to the British carmaker, the I-Pace has 10mm more legroom than the BMW 7 Series. There is 530 liters of trunk space in the new all-electric SUV from Britain, which is 120 liters less than the trunk space in the F-Pace. However, the Jaguar I-Pace features 28 liters under the hood as well, and you can use the flat floor inside the cabin to store additional eight liters of cargo.
Jaguar I-Pace 2018 Design
Jaguar’s design director Ian Callum and his team managed to think of an innovative car that comes without the internal combustion engine and other associated parts at the front. Plus, the I-Pace concept reminds us slightly of the C-X75 concept that was presented in 2010.
Ian Callum declared: “Designers have been looking forward to electric cars for a long time. 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.”
Because of the cab-forward design, Callum managed to create the I-Pace concept with strong haunches at the front end with a significant drop in the hood line. In order to reduce drag, the I-Pace comes with a hood scoop towards the back. The front end resembles the one of the F-Pace, with a bold front grille flanked by narrow headlights. Callum added: “It’s important we establish the front as a Jaguar. The headlights of today’s style have double J-blades – that’s something we’ll see more and more on Jaguars.”
The rear screen has a sharp angle, and it is coated with a hydrophobic coating which means that a rear wiper is redundant. Because of the smooth lines which stretch along the sides, the Jaguar I-Pace SUV has some coupe characteristics. The LED taillights are almost the same as the ones on the F-Type sports car, XE and XF models, but they take the shape of the square for a more technical appearance. Callum announced: “We’re relatively high at the back with quite square edges for optimum aerodynamics.”
2018 I-Pace Interior
Although this is an electric vehicle, according to Callum some features are simply essential. First of all, there are three screens for the driver – a 12-inch HD for the instruments, one more 12-inch touchscreen located on the floating center console and a small 5.5-inch screen underneath. In addition, the engineers even added some tiny screens in the rotary controllers that are positioned below the center control module.
Some of the tremendous design details inside the cabin of the I-Pace are bespoke lozenge pattern on literally everything. A delightful message can be seen on the dashboard – “Lovingly crafted by Jaguar. Est Coventry 1935.” But what is really going to put a smile on your face is the Jaguar paw prints stitched into the seats and the glove outline on the glove compartment base. Typical British humor!
What do you think about the Jaguar I-Pace concept?
