Imagine for a second what a Jaguar I-Pace will look like if Jaguar decided to turn it into a race car. I suppose it’ll be dripping with active aerodynamics, maybe even get a fancy color with racing stripes and company decals. It’s a good interpretation, except that we won’t have to imagine it because Jaguar actually did it. This, ladies and gentlemen, is the Frankfurt-bound I-Pace eTrophy, a prototype version of a racy-looking I-Pace that’s looking to devour the competition, a full-blown racer that will compete exclusively in the newly created I-Pace eTrophy series.

Judging by the way it looks - it’s positively menacing - it’s easy to forget that the I-Pace eTrophy is still an electric car at its roots. The quasi-SUV does have adequate power to justify its billing, thanks in large part to a 90 kWh battery and four electric motors (one on each axle) that combine to produce a total output of 400 horsepower and 516 pound-feet of torque. It’s unclear if the I-Pace eTrophy carries the same power and performance credentials, but if it’s able to perform as well as it looks, I expect the new I-Pace eTrophy support racing series for Formula E to be as exciting as it sounds. At the very least, the sight of seeing 20 of them on a racing grid is more than enough to get me interested in the series.

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The I-Pace eTrophy looks the part of a full-blown EV racer

I don’t subscribe to the thought that fancy decals and a few aero bits here and there make for a legitimate race car. It may seem that way visually but there’s more to a racer’s make-up than how it’s presented.

It’s safe to say though that I don’t think that way of the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy. This is what an electric SUV should look like if it were injected with racing genes. The front end is incredibly aggressive, thanks to the presence of that front splitter that’s almost impossible to miss. The air intakes are appropriately larger too and feature diagonal bars that extend from the bumper. The sloping hood also gets a pair of small vents while the side profile of the car is now dominated by the presence of side skirts and flush-mounted door handles.

Move to the back and you’ll notice a world of difference between the I-Pace eTrophy and its “standard” concept counterpart. Among the changes, none is more prominent than the obscenely enormous trunk-mounted spoiler. That thing is impossible to miss. Move your eyes south and you’ll also notice a different rear bumper that was presumably designed to accommodate the equally imposing diffuser.

If these aerodynamic components don’t paint a clear picture of what the I-Pace eTrophy is all about, the black racing stripes running the length of the electric SUV and the sheer volume of stickers and decals serve as suitable complements in bringing to life this racy-looking electric race car concept.

There are no shots of the interior at the moment, but we did notice the presence of a roll cage at the back, leading us to assume that the rear seats were completely taken out. The mesh window net on the driver’s side door also enhances its racing identity, as does the possibility that the car only has one seat in the entire cabin.

As far as first impressions go though, the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy looks the part of the full-fledged race car. Expect an announcement about the racer's technical specifications, as well as race calendar, and costs sometime in 2018.

References

Jaguar I-Pace

Read our full speculative review on the Jaguar I-Pace.

Jaguar I-Pace SVR

Read our full speculative review on the Jaguar I-Pace SVR.