Watch the new all-electric Jaguar I-Pace drag-race a Tesla Model X and win
British firm’s all-new electric crossover has some bullish performance claims, but the manufacturer has backed them up with a short race
Jaguar has finally pulled the covers off its first production-specification all-electric vehicle – and has boldly raced it against a Tesla Model X to prove its performance credentials.
The I-Pace was fully revealed yesterday, boasting a 298-mile range, fast charging capabilities and SUV-like cabin space. It also comes with some impressive performance figures, claiming 395bhp and 696Nm of torque, resulting in a 0-60mph sprint time of just 4.5 seconds.
Unlike internal combustion engines, which build power as revs increase, electric motors can deploy all of their performance immediately. This means acceleration can be astonishingly quick – something American EV maker Tesla has capitalised on as a way of marketing its vehicles.
The Jaguar I-Pace’s direct rival is the Tesla Model X, another all-electric SUV, so the firm decided to pitch its new car against its competitor in a drag race. Filmed at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez E-Prix circuit in Mexico City, the crossover starts off against the entry-level Tesla SUV, which costs £75,435 compared with the £63,495 Jaguar.
Piloted by racing drivers Tony Kanaan and Mitch Evans, the pair accelerate to 60mph from a standstill before hitting the brakes, with the winner the car that stops in the shortest distance. Impressively, if unsurprisingly for a Jaguar promotional video, the I-Pace wins, pulling up about five metres quicker than its rival.
It’s then pitched against the higher-spec 100D Model X, which costs almost twice as much to buy. The Jaguar comes out on top once again, though the British carmaker stopped short of racing the top-spec P100D, which has a ‘Ludicrous’ acceleration mode that primes the motors for hard acceleration resulting in sub-three-second 0-60mph times.
Jaguar is pushing the performance aspect of its electric vehicle as a way of making the technology more appealing to buyers. It says the I-Pace’s styling was inspired by the C-X75 supercar concept designed for the James Bond film Spectre, while the perfectly even weight distribution and low centre of gravity should help handling.
The Jaguar I-Pace is available to order now, with deliveries beginning in July.
