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Michael Taylor15 Nov 2016
NEWS

LA MOTOR SHOW: Jaguar debuts I-PACE

Fast, long-range, all-electric Jaguar SUV on sale by 2018

Ian Callum had spent a lifetime designing cars without once needing to deliver an SUV. Now Jaguar’s sketcher in chief has two.

And if the F-PACE was a game changer for Jaguar, the all-electric I-PACE could very well be a game changer for the entire premium car segment when it goes on sale in 2018.

Only a year ago Jaguar’s stablemates Land Rover and Range Rover did the SUVs while Jaguar watched booming crossover and SUV sales head across to Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Instead of being behind the bell curve in the move to electric cars, this time Jaguar plans to be out in front of the mainstream premium brands.

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It’s promising that – apart from its 23-inch wheels, presumably -- the I-PACE concept will reach production little changed from this show car to be a full-size SUV with 500km of range (on the European NEDC cycle) from a single charge and a sprint time to 100km/h in around four seconds.

Most of the German wave of premium electric cars is expected around 2020, when the EU’s emission laws tighten up and demand big battery-electric vehicle (BEV) volumes. Jaguar promises to get there two years earlier than that, in a practical daily driver that handles like a proper Jaguar.

And it won’t limit its BEV wave to just one model, with the I-PACE built on scalable electric architecture that can stretch up to full Range Rover size and down to a smaller sedan or SUV.

It will be all-wheel drive, with each axle using its own 150kW/350Nm electric motor, the two of which combine for around 300kW and an F-TYPE SVR-equalling 700Nm of instant torque. It will even carry over the software-driven off-road abilities of the F-PACE SUV.

Jaguar insists it will take just two hours to fully charge the I-PACE through a 50kW fast-charging DC station, or it will swallow an 80 per cent charge in the time it takes for a British breakfast to begin to digest (or about 90 minutes).

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Jaguar this year became an early adopter for the all-electric Formula E championship and insists it has used that expertise to design and engineer the batteries, electric motors and governing software in-house.

"This is an uncompromised electric vehicle designed from a clean sheet of paper: we’ve developed a new architecture and selected only the best technology available,” Jaguar Land Rover’s technical development leader, Dr Wolfgang Ziebart, said.

“The I-PACE Concept fully exploits the potential EVs can offer in space utilization, driving pleasure and performance."

It’s worth remembering that Ziebart was moved sideways from his role as Jaguar’s Engineering Director specifically to leapfrog Jaguar and Land Rover from internal combustion power, over plug-in hybrid power and directly into a BEV future.

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The synchronous, permanent-magnet motors themselves are just 500mm long, with a 234mm outer diameter. The ignore mass-production packaging traditions, too, by ditching the traditional engine-gearbox relationship and instead use a concentric single-speed layout to save on packaging space and help with ground clearance.

Beneath the floor, the lithium-ion battery pack uses 36 pouch cells and Jaguar claims they deliver lower-than-usual internal resistance and have potential greater energy density development without altering the housing or the external design.

The I-PACE runs a dual-mode liquid cooling circuit. In typical ambient temperature ranges it relies solely on radiator cooling to take the cell heat from the cooling liquid. If the weather gets properly hot (Jaguar doesn’t specify exactly how hot that is), it switches across to a chilled circuit linked to the car’s air-conditioning unit.

There’s also a heat pump integrated into the car’s climate-control system, designed to draw energy from outside air to heat the cabin rather than drawing current down from the battery.

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While the I-PACE is a two-pedal car, Jaguar also insists the driver can ramp up the level of regenerative braking to effectively turn it into a one-pedal car, with the car’s maximum regeneration allowing the driver to just using a throttle lift-off instead of braking.

Though it insists it can stuff 500km worth of range into the I-PACE’s battery, Jaguar also suggests that most people commute around 50km a day, meaning they’ll only need to charge the I-PACE once a week.

“Electric vehicles are inevitable – Jaguar will make them desirable. Zero-emission cars are here to stay and the I-PACE Concept is at the cutting edge of the electric vehicle revolution,” Jaguar’s Vehicle Line Director Ian Hoban said.

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“As the charging infrastructure continues to develop globally – and with enough range to mean most people would only need to charge once a week – cars like the I-PACE Concept will make drivers appreciate that an EV can be rewarding and practical enough to drive every day.”

The second ever SUV from the pen of Ian Callum, the I-PACE retains a conventionally large grille, even though it’s not necessary for cooling, and has slashed its drag coefficient to just 0.29Cd.

“This isn’t just a concept. It is a preview of a five-seat production car that will be on the road in 2018,” Jaguar Design Director Callum confirmed.

“This will be Jaguar’s first ever battery-powered electric vehicle and opens a new chapter in the history of our legendary brand.”

“The opportunities offered by an electric powertrain are huge. Electric vehicles offer designers much greater freedom, and it is an opportunity we must grasp.

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“This is why the I-PACE Concept is developed on a new architecture, which has been designed to optimise electric vehicle performance, aerodynamics and interior space.”

The car rides on a long 2990mm wheelbase, with the double-wishbone front-end design lifted from the conventionally-powered F-PACE SUV and a five-link rear suspension system.

"It's a true Jaguar and we will prove that a zero-emission vehicle can be a true driver's car," JLR’s Chief Engineer of Vehicle Integrity Mike Cross insisted.

"We proved with the F-PACE that a performance crossover can deliver the agility, connected feel and ride quality you'd expect from a Jaguar. Now we're going to do the same with the I-PACE Concept: this will be the first electric vehicle developed for enthusiasts who love driving."

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With no engine bay to bother it, the cab-forward design allows the 4680mm I-PACE to run with short overhangs, 530 litres of luggage space at the rear and a Lamborghini-esque 28-litre luggage compartment in the car’s nose.

The I-PACE runs a permanent wifi connection and continues Jaguar’s Flight Deck interior control philosophy, delivering a 12-inch touch-screen for most of its controls and a secondary 5.5-inch touch-screen, paired to two laser-etched aluminium rotary dials that let people change the infotainment and climate-control settings without interrupting the main display’s screen.

A 12.0-inch virtual instrument cluster sits in front of the driver, along with a full colour head-up display unit.

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Written byMichael Taylor
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