Jaguar has registered new monikers – the I-Pace, I-type and Velar – for its future cars. While it is quite obvious that the first two names indicate electric vehicles, the badge Velar finds its place in history books as the prototype name of the Range Rover SUV when it was being developed in the 60s.
Jaguar - Land Rover have been working on electric vehicles for quite some time and the registration of the ‘I’ names indicates that Jaguar EVs are just around the corner. While the I-Pace will most probably be the electric version of the F-Pace SUV, the I-Type may be the battery powered version of the F-Type sports car. I-Pace will compete against the likes of the Audi Q6 E-Tron, Tesla Model X and the upcoming electric Volvo XC 90. I-Type on the other hand will go against the Tesla Model S, the BMW i8 and other electric sports coupes.
The electric car setup might get inspiration from the C-X75 concept that was first showcased in Paris in 2010. The C-X75 is powered by four 145KW hub motors, one for each wheel, to give a combined output of close to 780bhp of power. Though the production cars may not be as powerful, they will certainly not be sluggish. The focus will be on achieving a good driving range for a full battery charge to maximise the practicality of these cars.
Coming to Velar, Land Rover may be planning to launch a new line of SUVs. It will be an overkill if we were to guess for which segment the Velar would be built for, but knowing Land Rover, we may have a sporty SUV in the making.