2018 Jaguar I-Pace: fresh spy shots suggest interior peek
The Jaguar I-Pace has been spied testing in the palms of engineers again, this time providing our best look yet at the electrified Jaguar’s interior.
The cabin takes its styling cues directly from the I-Pace concept exposed at the LA Motor Demonstrate late last year, however one or two things have been toned down for production. This is a pre-production car tho’, so it’s not downright representative of what buyers will be getting when the I-Pace launches in 2018.
The same slanted switchgear panel rises up from the central divider, and sits underneath a broad infotainment screen. It’s a setup similar to the one seen on the fresh Range Rover Velar. These spy shots expose that Jaguar has gone for more conventional vents too, tho’ these could interchange back to the long, skinny, modern looking units showcased on the concept – we can’t be too sure whether what’s on showcase here is production or placeholder. We may know soon tho’ as the fresh Jaguar I-Pace could emerge in production form as early as the Frankfurt Motor Showcase on September 12th.
At the expose of the concept I-Pace at the Los Angeles Motor Showcase late last year, Jaguar’s design chief Ian Callum hinted that the concept was around eighty per cent comparable to the production car. From our vast bank of spy shots, we can see that the overall profile of the I-Pace concept will transition almost seamlessly into production, while some styling elements will be toned down.
Based on a fully fresh electrical architecture, the I-Pace also introduced Jag’s design team with a blank canvas thanks to the absence of an engine and gearbox.
Like the bodywork, the basic power and spectacle figures should also remain largely unchanged and Jaguar has hinted that it’ll cost around 10-15 per cent more than an equivalent version of its F-Pace SUV, so expect a beginning price around the £55,000 mark. Jaguar is taking details from interested customers right now, ahead of the production model arriving.
Jaguar I-Pace spectacle: 395bhp and 300-mile range
Jaguar claims that the I-Pace will have at least three hundred miles of range on a single charge and it’ll be able to dash from 0-62mph in around four seconds. A 90kWh lithium ion battery sits inbetween the axles, driving two uncommon earth magnetic electrified motors for a total power output of 395bhp and 700Nm of torque.
The I-Pace features an all-new aluminium platform, and the compact size of the electrified motors – each one has an outer diameter of 234mm and a length of 500mm – permit slew of space in the cabin.
Much of the car’s hardware is derived from the F-Pace SUV, including the double-wishbone front suspension and the compact Integral Link rear suspension. The Lithium-Ion batteries have been developed in-house and use pouch cells for their energy density and efficiency. They’ll give eighty per cent charge in ninety minutes and one hundred per cent in just over two hours from a 50kW DC charging point, and they sit low in the car to give the car a centre of gravity that’s 120mm lower than the F-Pace.
Weight is an issue – the I-Pace is expected to weigh around Two,100kg – but straight-line spectacle won’t be, and Jaguar promises that the car will treat ‘as a Jaguar should’.
Jaguar I-Pace dimensions and boot space
So albeit the car is marginally smaller than the F-Pace (around 50mm shorter, 90mm lower and 40mm narrower) its wheelbase is 115mm longer meaning there’s more room inwards. In fact, Jaguar says it’s got 10mm more kneeroom than a BMW seven Series.
The 530-litre boot is one hundred twenty litres smaller than the F-Pace’s, while there’s an extra twenty eight litres of space under the bonnet. However, clever use of the interior’s vapid floor means there’s also space for eight litres of storage inbetween the front seats.
Jaguar I-Pace: design
The fresh car’s architecture, doing without the need to put an internal combustion engine at the front with all the associated bits, means Jaguar’s design director Ian Callum and his team have been able to produce a stunning and innovative design with hints of 2010’s C-X75 concept.
“Designers have been looking forward to electrified cars for a long time,” Ian Callum told us. “They give you permission to do things that you can’t do when you have an internal combustion engine.”
“We began off with a skateboard-like platform that enabled us to bring the cab forward in spite of it being an SUV. The wheelbase was determined by the number and size of the batteries that we needed to fit in inbetween the axles.”
The cab-forward design has enabled Callum to give the I-Pace strong haunches at the front of the car – like the C-X75, with a distinct dip in the bonnet line. There’s also a bonnet scoop towards the back to reduce haul.
In spite of the low front and brief overhang, there’s a bold front grille framed by slender lights like on the F-Pace. “It’s significant we establish the front as a Jaguar,” says Callum. “The headlights of today’s style have dual J-blades – that’s something we’ll see more and more on Jaguars.”
Sweeping lines along the side and tapering waistline give the five-door SUV a coupé-like profile, leading to a sharply angled rear screen decorated with a hydrophobic covering so there’s no need for a rear wiper.
Rear vents sit where tailpipes would usually be, but channel air from the rear wheelarches to reduce haul. LED tail lights go after the design theme established on the F-Type sports car, XE and XF models, but are squared off for a more technical look.
“We’re relatively high at the back with fairly square edges for optimum aerodynamics,” said Callum. And sure enough, the I-Pace has an impressively low haul coefficient for an SUV of 0.29.
Jaguar I-Pace technology and interior
In spite of the temptations created by the electrical architecture, Callum says that you still have to have familiar hardware inwards the car. But around the traditional driving position are three screens: a 12-inch HD screen to display instruments, another 12-inch touchscreen on the floating centre console and a smaller Five.5-inch touchscreen below. There are even lil’ screens in the rotary controllers that sit further down that centre control module.
There are slew of delightful design details inwards the I-Pace, with Jaguar’s bespoke lozenge pattern on everything from the leather seats to the speaker grilles, while laser-etched into the burr walnut dash are the words ‘Lovingly crafted by Jaguar. Est Coventry 1935’.
There’s also a British sense of humour to the Jaguar paw prints stitched into the seats, and the glove outline on the base of the glove box.
With Jaguar’s iType racing car contesting this season’s Formula E championship, the brand’s electrified future is becoming clearer – especially with the promise of more hybrid and electrified vehicles to go after the I-Pace to market in the coming years.
Tell us what you think of the fresh Jaguar I-Pace in the comments section below.