Confirmed: Jaguar SVO Will Get its Hands on Jaguar's EVs; an I-Pace SVR Could be in the Cards

TopSpeed

By Robert Moore

Published Mar 19, 2018

exciting times indeed

The I-Pace is Jaguar’s first EV and, despite the fact that it’s barely been released from the incubator, the folks over Jaguar Special Vehicle Operations are itching like crackheads to get their hands on it. SVO boss, John Edwards told Motoring that a high-performance version of an EV wouldn’t be easy but not that it’s impossible. And, that it’s not all about performance, it could extend to luxury and comfort as well. And, to add the icing to the cake, it’s quite possible that the could wear SVR badges.

What can we expect from Jaguar SVO

For now, Jaguar believes it has maxed out the performance from the I-Pace, but the whole situation surround EVs is very different and still largely uncharted territory:

“The rules of performance vehicles in a traditional market are very established, and we react to those established rules. With electric vehicles, the rules aren’t established at all, so I think it gives us different opportunities,” said Edwards.

There’s no word as to what EV SVO will actually latch onto first, it did have something to do with the I-Pace eTrophy, and there that was no confirmation that there would be an I-Pace SVR, but it’s certainly not out of the question. One engineer told Motoring that the biggest drawback when it comes to performance is the power inverter that changes the power from DC to AC before it reaches the motor. It’s not just as simple as throwing in bigger motors, as the inverter could work as a bottleneck

Of course, with that in mind, the I-Pace eTrophy used the same battery pack as the standard I-Pace but feature twin motors with 325kW output as opposed to the 294kW available in the standard model. It was also some 300 pounds lighter at the same time, so as you can see, there is some work that can be done. In fact, SVO could take the I-Pace eTrophy, add in that extra motor, some more luxurious trim and call it an SVR.

In the future, Jaguar is expected to electrify both the XJ sedan and the F-Type, both of which could get some electric SVO love as well. Sounds like some pretty exciting times for the engineers over at SVO, don’t you think?