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Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations could build standalone models

Jaguar Land Rover may be set to turn its Special Vehicle Operations division into something much bigger than a mere in-house tuner. Bloomberg spoke to the head of JLR's high-performance, customization outfit, John Edwards, who hinted that his team may move beyond simply modifying F-Types, Range Rovers and the like. "We're certainly looking at that, and we've got the capability to do that," Edwards told AN. "Is there an opportunity for us to do a completely standalone car? Maybe." Such a move into full-scale, standalone models would be a big step, particularly for a division that's still kind of in its infancy. Bloomberg references the success of Mercedes-AMG, but the German division has had the benefit of decades of growth. AMG spent years and years building high-performance versions of all manner of mainstream Mercedes vehicles, before moving onto cars like the SLS AMG and AMG GT, which have no mainstream analog. In other words, AMG had a long time to develop a reputation building high-performance vehicles that people know and recognize before it moved into building vehicles of its own. We aren't entirely convinced that SpecOps wouldn't benefit from taking a similar approach, delivering additional SVR vehicles, like the rumored XE SVR, before striking out on its own. We'd like to know what you think, though. Is it already time for Special Vehicle Operations to build standalone models, or should it learn to walk before it runs by modifying more of Jaguar Land Rover's existing product. Have your say in Comments. Related Video:

Jaguar I-Pace is the first electric Google Street View car

Google has built a data gathering vehicle for its Maps Street View app out of a Jaguar I-Pace. It's billed as the first electric Street View car and is currently on the prowl and mapping the city of Dublin, Ireland. The one-off vehicle will not only photograph the roads of Ireland's capital, but measure street-to-street air cleanliness and greenhouse gases as well. It's equipped with air quality sensors by Aclima that measure carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, nitric oxide, ozone, particulate matter and black carbon — all compounds that contribute to climate change when present in excess amounts. The partnership with Aclima is nothing new. Google has been equipping its more common Subaru Impreza Street View cars with the sensors since 2015. However, the Jaguar I-Pace will not contribute any emissions as it goes about its mission. The all-wheel-drive electric crossover can drive up to 246 miles (after a late 2019 software update) before a charge, and we'd wager Google won't be executing too many of Jaguar's claimed 4.5-second 0-60 sprints to cut down on that figure. Most of the Jag's 394 maximum horsepower and 512 pound-feet of torque will probably go unused. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Google & Dublin City Council Launch Innovative Partnership to Capture DublinÂ’s Air Pollution So why the I-Pace? Though the company has not said, Google's autonomous vehicle spinoff, Waymo, has used Jaguars in self-driving car research. However, Waymo was split off from the Mountain View mothership in 2016, so perhaps it's just a coincidence. For its part, Jaguar Land Rover has pledged to go carbon neutral by 2039. "We are delighted to support this project as it aligns with our own journey to becoming an electric-first business and achieving net zero carbon by 2039. Partnerships like this are one of the ways we can achieve our sustainability goals and make a positive impact on society," said Elena Allen, Project Manager for Business Development at JLR. Google and Aclima have collected over 100 million air quality data points since the project, called Google Project Air View, launched six years ago. Last year, Google made this data freely available to the scientific community. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. We answered your questions about the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace

Jaguar may enter Formula E to advance electric portfolio

The FIA Formula E Championship looks poised to gain another major automaker. According to reports from the UK, Jaguar Land Rover is preparing to announce a new electric vehicle strategy this week. And that is tipped to include participation in the all-electric racing series. According to Sky News, Jaguar's electric racing program would give the British carmaker the opportunity to showcase its prowess in electric propulsion. Quoting an unnamed insider, the UK news service reported that Formula E "offers live testing for electrification technologies in areas such as batteries and drivetrains; that's why it looks valuable to them." The program would likely be launched in conjunction with Williams, the F1 team with which it partnered on development of the aborted C-X75 hybrid supercar project recently unearthed for a starring role in the latest James Bond film Spectre. Williams helped develop the battery system that powers the electric spec racer used in Formula E. The partnership could take over from the Trulli team that is expected to soon drop out of the series. JLR wouldn't be the first automaker to participate in electric racing. Audi supports the Abt team, Renault the e.Dams outfit, and PSA Peugeot Citroen's DS brand the Virgin Racing squad. Mercedes and Volvo have also been reported to be looking carefully at participation, while BMW provides support vehicles for the series. Jaguar participates in vintage racing and Land Rover runs the Bowler off-road racing series. However, the last time the company supported a top-level works racing program was between 2000 and 2004 when Jaguar Racing (the precursor to today's Red Bull team) competed in Formula One. It has since offered the XKR GT2 racer and has been rumored to be considering a return to sports car racing, but the trend towards electrification now appears to be driving the Formula E initiative instead. We're waiting to hear back on requests for comment from Jaguar. But Sky reports that an official announcement will be made on Tuesday, so watch this space. Related Video: