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Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy: New EV, new series — Jaguar's going racing

Luxury carmaker Jaguar is teasing the 2018 launch of a five-seat electric sports car based on its I-Pace concept as its first battery-electric vehicle. The Indian-owned automaker released images of the sports car as part of its announcement that it will launch the world's first international production EV race series in 2018. A performance SUV version of the I-Pace, previously reported and presumably based on a concept revealed late last year, is also planned for late 2018. Jaguar has said it plans to electrify all new models after 2020, part of a wave of similar announcements as governments in England, China and elsewhere have announced plans to eventually ban the sale of gasoline or diesel cars. In its announcement, Jaguar said only that the race series would "support the launch" of the I-Pace five-seater. View 7 Photos At the Los Angeles auto show last year, Jaguar said its concept I-Pace crossover SUV would have a 220-mile range from its 90-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack, designed and engineered entirely in-house. The Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy series is a support series for the FIA Formula E championship and will exclusively feature up to 20 all-electric Jaguar I-Pace racecars across 10 races in cities including Hong Kong, Paris, Sao Paolo and New York. The racecars will be built at the Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations in Warwickshire, England. "With the launch of the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY, we have strengthened our commitment to battery electric vehicles, international motorsport and Formula E," Gerd Mauser, chairman of Jaguar Racing, said in a statement. "As a British team, we are proud to announce today the launch of the world's first production battery electric vehicle championship." He added: "Ultimately this innovative series will enhance the technology in our future electric vehicles and benefit our customers." Jaguar says it will release technical specifications, race calendar and costs for the I-Pace eTrophy in 2018. Related Video: Green Frankfurt Motor Show Jaguar Electric Racing Vehicles Performance Sedan Frankfurt 2017 jaguar i-pace

Jaguar likely moving HQ to Britain's most iconic racetrack

Jaguar Land Rover looks increasingly likely to make Britain's iconic Silverstone race track the automaker's new headquarters. There isn't a final deal in place yet, but the British Racing Drivers' Club, which owns the circuit, plans to have the membership vote on whether the negotiations should move forward, according to Autosport. BRDC leaders already presented the plan to members, and they were open to the idea. "The response was favorable so we will now set up an EGM for the members to vote and give the board a mandate to proceed with the deal and continue with the negotiations with JLR," BRDC president Derek Warwick told Autosport. There's no guarantee yet that JLR actually completes the deal. "There's still a lot of work to do to get the deal to where both sides are happy and more importantly what's right for the BRDC and its members." Warwick said. Rumors in early December suggested JLR was among the firms submitting bids to purchase the track, and the automaker allegedly offered 22.7 million pounds ($34.1 million at the time) for it. The company would also reportedly invest nearly $80 million to renovate the site, including adding a museum, experience center, hotel, and offices. The track would still be open for motorsport, too. Silverstone has hosted the Formula One British Grand Prix many times over the decades, and organizers signed a 17-year deal in 2009 to keep things that way well into the future. Series like the FIA World Endurance Championship, MotoGP, and British Touring Car Championship also compete there. Related Video:

Jaguar trademarks EV-Type nameplate

Green may have been a popular color choice for the classic Jaguar E-Type, but even in Lightweight form (pictured above), it was hardly what you'd call environmentally friendly. Not by today's standards, anyway, with six-, eight- and twelve-cylinder engines displacing between 3.8 and 5.3 liters. But Jaguar looks to be preparing to revive the nameplate - or at least one similar - with a new electric vehicle in the works.
According to the latest intel, Jaguar has applied both in the US and in Europe to trademark the name EV-Type. The implication that it's developing an electric vehicle is clear, as is the reference to its iconic sports car of yore. But more than that, we don't know. We could be looking at an electric version of the current F-Type, a project to convert original E-Types to electric power or a different model altogether.
It wouldn't be the first time, of course, that we'd see Jaguar toying with the idea of electric propulsion. A couple of years ago, the British automaker demonstrated a plug-in hybrid XJ_e prototype, and showcased both the C-X16 and C-X75 concepts with advanced hybrid powertrains. But it has yet to put any such system into production, relying instead on the small diesels it sells in Europe to keep its carbon footprint small.