Jaguar Racing launches world’s first international championship for production-based electric cars
In 2016 Jaguar became the first premium vehicle manufacturer to enter Formula E ahead of rivals such as Mercedes, Porsche and Audi. In 2018 they take it to another level and introduce the first race series for production based electric cars. Yep you read that right. Ahead of their expected launch of the I-Pace they have whetted our appetite by revealing a 20 car grid which will run in 10 of the races supporting the Formula E. The car itself, well I think it looks awesome, well done Jaguar.
What will the grid look like?
In a press release from Jaguar on 12.09.17 they outlined their vision for this groundbreaking announcement.
"Exclusively featuring Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY racecars, the new all-electric series gives racers of the future a chance to showcase their talent, competing on the world stage in zero-emissions motorsport.
The groundbreaking championship will support the launch of the Jaguar I-PACE – Jaguar’s highly innovative five-seat battery electric sports car which hits the road in the same year.
Up to 20 electric I-PACE racecars will be on the grid in the centre of 10 races in global cities such as Hong Kong, Paris, Sao Paolo and New York, giving future Formula E stars the chance to race in the world-first series."
Jaguar returned to racing in 2016 with the mission ‘Race to Innovate’. With the launch of the Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY we have strengthened our commitment to battery electric vehicles, international motorsport and Formula E. As a British team, we are proud to announce today the launch of the world’s first production battery electric vehicle championship. Gerd Mäuser, Chairman, Jaguar Racing
Gerd Mäuser went on to say "We’ve always said we want to prove our electrification technologies on the track – this is the proof. I am looking forward to seeing a full grid of Jaguar I-PACE racecars in late 2018, soon after the first Jaguar I-PACE hits the road in Europe. Ultimately this innovative series will enhance the technology in our future electric vehicles and benefit our customers."
Jaguar have a long history of racing to develop their cars, in a year we celebrate the historic 1957 Le Mans 1,2,3, 4 & 6 it is great to see the company committing to racing as they have in their long successful history. What better way to develop the technologies of the future than on a race track, they did it before and they are doing it again. This is a long way from the technologies that the company developed in the 1950's and 1960's, but it is all part of the same evolution.
Jaguar are offering a complete ‘Arrive and Drive’ packages in the I-PACE eTROPHY that includes:
- Entry into a 10-race global championship supporting FIA Formula E
- Professional technical support from racecar preparation to data engineering
- All global logistics for vehicles, spare parts and equipment
- All tyres and consumables
- All garaging infrastructure at race weekends
- All Championship promotion and marketing by Jaguar Racing and Formula E
- Allocated hospitality for entrants with the ability to purchase further places for sponsor guests
- Championship race wear for each driver
- Dedicated Championship television coverage
Video
To give you an idea of how it is going to look and sound (yes even electric cars make noise) they produced this rather electrifying video. Hands up who fancies a drive?
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