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Jaguar's Callum: 'Huge' opportunities with electric vehicles

Eventually, some brave innovator, with an imagination light years ahead of the rest of us mere mortals, will envision an automotive future that the rest of us can't conceive. This person will step up and tell us how electric vehicles have the potential to change our lives for the better. They'll have the guts to tell us that if we could only open our eyes, we'd see that there's a way to get from one place to another that doesn't pollute the air we breathe. They'll explain that it won't just be globally responsible, it'll be magnificent. Yes, the electric car needs a champion, a figurehead, someone so inspirational that comic book superheroes are modeled after him. Finally, that champion has revealed himself. Saying out loud what the enlightened few of us know but dare not utter for fear of ridicule, our hero has spoken. "Electrification will kickstart the biggest change in automotive design in history," Ian Callum, design director at Jaguar told Autocar. That Jaguar sees the potential for electric vehicles is welcome progress. Sarcasm aside, that Jaguar sees the potential for electric vehicles is welcome progress. Even more appealing is that Callum approaches the potential of EVs from a design angle, where the slate is essentially blank, he feels, and so much is possible. "The opportunities an electric powertrain offers are huge," Callum says, "especially in terms of the space for occupants. By removing so much of the mechanical hardware and placing the batteries in the floor plan you open up all sorts of possibilities with packaging." To peer into Callum's mind when it comes to EV design would be extraordinary to behold. In many ways, his vision truly is something most of us cannot grasp completely, having spent a long career designing some of the most desirable cars of our time for some of the most prestigious automotive brands on the planet. So when he talks about the freedom EVs present from a design standpoint, it's not difficult to get excited. A Jaguar EV isn't as far-fetched as it might seem at first. Plus, a Jaguar EV isn't as far-fetched as it might seem at first, as Callum explains. "I'm clear in my mind that an electric Jaguar would be suitable for the brand," he says. "You have to move with the times and design for the opportunities. Look at the C-X75 concept – that was a car that was designed for an alternative powertrain, and nobody had any complaints about how that looked.

Jaguar F-Pace will debut in Frankfurt

Jaguar makes sports cars and it makes luxury sedans, but it is set to expand into new territory altogether at the Frankfurt Motor Show this coming September. That's where and when it will reveal the F-Pace, Jaguar's very first crossover, and the production version of the C-X17 concept pictured here. Developed with critical input from sister-company Land Rover, the Jaguar F-Pace is being billed as a "sports crossover," with a more on-road focus than the SUVs of its off-road counterpart. Expect a range of engines to draw principally off of the new Ingenium family of four-cylinder gasoline and diesel powerplants, capped by Jag's signature supercharged V6 – just like the new XE sedan with which it will share much of its underpinnings. We can always hope, though, for an even more potent SVR version to follow with the JLR's sensational 5.0-liter supercharged V8. The Frankfurt reveal will mark two years since the C-X17 concept was first presented at the same show in 2013. Its arrival, coupled to that of the aforementioned XE, promise to push Jaguar's global output up from around 80,000 units last year to more than 200,000 once both models hit their stride.

Jaguar E-Type Zero electrics will enter production

In case you thought the electric, future-proofed Jaguar E-Type Zero concept was merely a flight of fancy, Jaguar is about to prove it's far from that. The E-Type Zero is about to make production, at Jaguar's Classic division in Coventry, England. One of the core ideas with the electrified E-Type is that the new electric powertrain, picked from the I-Pace, takes up roughly the same space as the original XK straight-six engine and gearbox. Not only does this enable building new electric versions from reproduction shells, but it also allows for electric conversions of vintage E-Types, while weight distribution and handling remain close to the way the cars were originally designed — albeit with more power and torque. And the battery pack still wears XK badging to make it feel more at home in the E-Type. The automaker expects a driving range of over 170 miles. The E-Type Zero was originally unveiled a little less than a year ago, and at that point Jaguar remarked it was just a concept. Now things have progressed far enough for Jaguar to announce small-scale production at the same Coventry facility where Jaguar also builds as-new E-Type Reborn versions. In case a prospective client wants to electrify their old E-Type, that is also possible. And, as Jaguar says, the conversion is fully reversible, in case owners would want to revert back to that sweet straight-six sound. "We've been overwhelmed by the positive reaction to the Jaguar E-type Zero concept," said Jaguar Land Rover Classic Director Tim Hannig. "Future-proofing the enjoyment of classic car ownership is a major stepping stone for Jaguar Classic." The first production E-Type Zeros will reach customer hands in the summer of 2020, according to Jaguar. The newest concept version will be shown at California's Monterey Car Week. Related Video: