Navigation Bluetooth Parking Sensors Moonroof on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2018 Jaguar I-Pace hits the Nurburgring in all its electric glory

Jaguar is continuing development work on the I-Pace, its first all-electric model set to arrive in 2018. Today we're getting fresh spy shots of the svelte crossover being unloaded for testing at the Nurburgring, and the I-Pace looks almost identical to the concept model and a prototype we spied earlier this year. It's expected to debut next fall at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Despite wearing Slimer-green camouflage, the I-Pace's curves and creases are evident. It's fronted by a prominent grille that's mainly for looks, angled headlights, and short overhangs. Obviously, Jag wants you to know it's working on an electric car, as the test mule wears the hashtag #jaguarelectrifies on the sides and #ipace on the hood. Subtle. Jaguar hasn't confirmed US specs, but based on the concept car the I-Pace generates 400 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque to all four wheels from a 90-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack. The crossover can hit 60 miles per hour in 4 seconds and has an expected range of 220 miles. Jaguar is investing in electric technology, though it's also looking to diesels and smaller-displacement four-cylinder engines as part of its future powertrain strategy. On Monday, the company confirmed plans for a 296-hp turbo four-cylinder that will be offered in the 2018 XE, XF, and F-Pace, as the well-received Ingenium engine family expands. In Jaguar parlance, the "Paces" are crossovers: The F-Pace is a midsize utility vehicle. The E-Pace is a compact crossover, and the I-Pace is an electric crossover. Try to keep up. Related Video: Featured Gallery 2018 Jaguar I-Pace View 10 Photos Green Spy Photos Jaguar Crossover jaguar i-pace

Jaguar testing hardcore F-Type R-S GT?

Some automakers make a hardcore model, then sit back and revel in its awesomeness. Jaguar does things a little differently. It takes a standard production model, gives it more power, bigger brakes and a tighter suspension and slaps the letter R on it. Then it gives it even more power, even bigger brakes and an even tighter suspension and calls it an R-S. Sometimes the engineers in Coventry don't even think that's enough, so they strip out some weight and dial things up even further and call it an R-S GT.
So far, they've only gone that far with the XK (transformed first into the XKR, then the XKR-S, and finally the XKR-S GT), but with that model on its way out, Jaguar seems to be preparing to give the newer F-Type a similar treatment. Now we can't be sure that what we're looking at is an F-Type R-S GT, especially since the 550-horsepower engine from the XKR-S and XFR-S is already powering the existing F-Type R Coupe, but it does seem to have all the makings of a hardcore performance model.
Compared to the existing F-Type, the development model pictured here has a bigger front splitter (like the one on the Project 7 concept), a big rear wing and a set of what looks like pretty big lightweight alloys. It's also, tellingly, a roadster, which (unlike the coupe) has until now topped out at 500hp with the V8 S model. So while it may be hard to say exactly just what Jaguar has in store for us here (or what they'll call it), one thing's for sure: it's gonna be fast and loud.

Jaguar F-Pace V6 reminds us why we love supercharged engines

There are many things we like about our 2018 Jaguar F-Pace long-term car, as well as some things we don't care for, but easily one of the best things about it is the engine. Under the hood is the 380-horsepower supercharged V6 that Jaguar offers on other models. That amount of power would be fun in just about any car with any engine, but there are specific reasons why this particular engine is special, and it's because of that supercharger. Supercharged engines have a very different character than increasingly common turbo engines. One of the most noticeable differences being engine response. Unlike turbo engines, the F-Pace's V6 feels hardwired to your foot. Every extra millimeter of pedal travel yields a slightly greater amount of tug. And the tug is felt immediately. Even the best turbo engines have a hard time recreating this response. The power band is very linear, as well, so you know exactly what you're getting every time you hit the gas. The engine is wonderfully torquey, too. Because the Jaguar's engine uses a classic Roots-type blower, there's a major improvement in low-end torque. This means that our F-Pace has loads of grunt for punting around at low-rpm and can seriously move when tromping on the gas. And because of the near-instant throttle response and linear power band, it doesn't slam you in the back unexpectedly like some turbo engines do. Despite how great these supercharged engines are to experience, we're concerned that supercharged engines like this may disappear in all but ultra-limited production, high-performance cars such as the Chevy Corvette Z06 and Cadillac CTS-V. The reason being that car companies have to keep making cars more fuel efficient and lower emitting. Putting a supercharger on an engine is adding a handicap, since it takes engine power to spin the belt-driven supercharger. And when a turbo, which uses wasted energy from exhaust gas to spin the compressor and built boost, can effectively do the same thing, it's hard to make a case for a supercharger. We won't give up hope completely, though. Mazda is using superchargers on its spark-assisted compression ignition gasoline engines. And while we're not sure how powerful and sporty those will be, Mazda has said that it's going with superchargers for exactly the reasons we like the Jaguar engine: smooth power and fast throttle response.