Jaguar Land Rover is throwing its hat into the all-electric ring, promising that all new vehicles will be offered with an electrified powertrain by 2020, be it full EV, plug-in hybrid or mild hybrid.
This week the company showed off three electrified vehicles: One with vintage flair, one straight from the future and one that consumers can actually buy in 2018.
If all EVs looked like the Jaguar I-Pace we wouldn’t look at an internal combustion engine again.
Jaguar
The consumer-focused Jaguar I-Pace sports dual electric motors, putting out 400 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. The 90-kWh battery can store enough juice for 220 miles of driving. Looking a bit like an F-Pace shot with a dose of science fiction, the I-Pace cuts a strong figure and will join the Tesla Model X as the only two all-electric crossovers on the market. Yes, Chevrolet claims the Bolt is a crossover based on EPA interior measurements, but we here at Roadshow aren’t drinking that Kool-Aid.
Taking a cue from the past, the E-Type Zero is a one-off labor of love is based on a 1968 Series 1.5 Roadster. Yep, the vehicle Enzo Ferrari claimed to be “the most beautiful car in the world” now has an electric powertrain under the hood.
The small 40-kWh battery can only provide enough juice for 170 miles of driving, but who cares when the electric motor produces 220 kW — 295 horsepower to us Americans — and can hit 62 miles per hour from a standstill in 5.5 seconds, a full second faster than the original E-Type. Unfortunately, this is a one-of-a-kind vehicle, so don’t expect to see the E-type Zero in dealerships (or at car shows) anytime soon.
Looking to the future of driving and car ownership, Jaguar has also developed the Future-Type concept, a vision for the electric vehicle of 2040. This perspective entails a future in which the only part of a car owned by a consumer is the steering wheel, dubbed the Sayer after Malcolm Sayer, designer of the E-type.
Drivers can call an autonomous Future-Type to their homes when ready for a journey. The vehicle will have car-to-car communication, ensuring a safer ride and easing traffic congestion. Fortunately, Jaguar Land Rover also gives drivers the option of piloting the car themselves, once the tedious part of the journey is finished.
The Future-Type features 2+1 seating that can be configured for socializing when in autonomous mode. The renderings look a bit like, and I mean this in the best possible way, a beetle with wheels. There isn’t much of a hood to speak of, just a windshield that blends seamlessly with the roof to a sharp crease in the rear. Huge wheels flank each corner and the scissor doors top off the ultramodern look.
Jaguar Land Rover joins other manufacturers that have committed to bringing more EVs to market. Mercedes-Benz has promised 10 new electric models by 2022 while Volvo announced it would be electrifying all vehicles from 2019 onward.
