Jaguar has officially unveiled its first production electric vehicle, the I-Pace, making it the first major automaker from Europe to put up a challenge to Tesla’s reign in the EV market. The pure electric vehicle is based on a completely new platform and features an all-new design from ground-up. The British automaker’s revolutionary battery-powered compact SUV appeared as a concept at the Los Angeles motor show in 2016 and quite a few things have changed in the last 15 months. Interestingly, the exterior design of the production variant is quite similar to the concept. It ditches Jaguar’s extremely successful long hood, short boot proportions for a layout which is optimized for an EV. The I-Pace has a very short frontend and a cab-forward design, because there’s no need for a long engine compartment in the front to accommodate a heavy gas-engine. Despite that, the design DNA of the car is unmistakably Jaguar.
Instead of a gas engine, the car is propelled by two electric motors at both ends of a skateboard chassis. The combined output of the pair equals to 394hp and an impressive 512 ft lbs torque available from 0 rpm, helping the 4784 pound SUV hit zero to 60mph in just 4.5 seconds. The liquid-cooled 432 lithium-ion cells that make up the powerful 90kWh battery pack is mounted low on the chassis, between the two axles, giving the I-Pace respectable handling characteristics for a car of its kind. As for the range, Jaguar claims the I-Pace can travel 240 miles when fully charged and when plugged into a 50 kW DC rapid charger, the battery replenishes 80 percent of its charge within 85 minutes. The Jaguar’s first ever EV has been launched in three regular trim levels – S, SE and HSE, with the price ranging from £63,495 to £74,445 (the US prices are yet to be announced).
[Via:Fourwheeler]