It’s hard to have a more successful world debut than what the Jaguar E-Pace just had. You would think that being the second SUV in Jaguar’s lineup would be enough to catch people’s attention, right? Nope. Jaguar had to do something different, and it did just that by setting a new Guinness World Record for the longest barrel roll of any production vehicle, doing so by hitting a 50 foot-long jump and completing a 270-degree corkscrew in the process. The world record itself is impressive, but it’s really old hat for Jaguar, which has made a habit of setting world records upon the debuts of its new models. Remember, the Jaguar F-Pace also launched itself in the record books when it set the loop-the-loop record with a measurement of 62.6 feet during its launch in 2015.

Renowned stunt driver Terry Grant took the wheel of the E-Pace during the barrel roll attempt, which was an excellent choice as Grant owns 24 Guinness World Records. Think the E-Pace’s barrel roll record is his crowning achievement? That’s up for debate since he also owns the aforementioned loop-the-loop record with the F-Pace, not to mention his other records, including driving a Nissan Juke on two wheels and going 55 mph for 1.6 miles while piloting the Nissan Leaf. This new world record set by the E-Pace is the perfect showcase of the new SUV’s agility and performance capabilities. It’s hard to imagine any kind of real-world application as far as barrel-rolling is concerned, but then again, a record is a record and Jag’s new SUV can now be considered a legitimate world record-holder.

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So this is Jaguar’s “thing” now, huh?

The auto industry is one of the most competitive industries in the world, so it’s perfectly natural for automakers to find whatever gimmick they can in order to stand out. Apparently, Jaguar has tapped the “set world records during car debuts” as a way of keeping its car relevant in news cycles. It’s a good strategy because the business has a thing for records and a big part of what’s going to make the E-Pace more appealing to customers is the fact that it’s currently in the Guinness Book of World Records.

Give credit to Jaguar for understanding this appeal and for leveraging the E-Pace’s abilities and turning it into an actual world record. It’s also pretty cool to know that the British automaker took inspiration for the jump from the iconic stunt in the James Bond movie, Man with the Golden Gun, where Roger Moore performed a barrel roll in an AMC Hornet. I doubt that anybody’s going to confuse the E-Pace with the Hornet, but it is impressive to see a vehicle with the size of the Jaguar SUV to successfully launch itself in the air, turn 270-degrees in a corkscrew fashion, and land on its wheels in perfect balance.

Hopefully, we never have to see the E-Pace put in a position where the driver has to perform a real-life barrel roll with the crossover, but it is reassuring to know that it can do it, provided of course that the driver can find a ramp uniquely designed for launching an E-Pace. Pretty cool world record, Jaguar.

References

Read our full review on the 2018 Jaguar E-Pace.