2018 Jaguar E-Pace Debut Set For July 13, Here’s A Pre-Production Prototype

As a teaser to the big reveal, the British automaker decided to release a video of the E-Pace doing in thing in the most diverse of challenging environments. From the 48 degrees Celsius of Dubai to the sub-zero temperatures of the Arctic Circle, Jaguar’s compact-sized sport utility vehicle was tested and fine-tuned by 500 engineers on four continents.

150 prototypes and 120,000 hours of testing later, the E-Pace is almost upon us. Scheduled to go into production in early 2018, the smallest SUV in the Jaguar stable already has a price tag in both its domestic market and the U.S.: £28,500 and $38,600. The difference in pricing boils down to different entry-level specifications, with the North American model getting all-wheel-drive as standard and, most likely, a more potent engine.

Essentially the Jaguar-branded counterpart of the Range Rover Evoque, the E-Pace will be facing its final test on Thursday, July 13th. The automaker will stream the event live on YouTube and various social media channels, although the nature of the test is a mystery at this time.

“Our team of world-class engineers and dynamics specialists have meticulously tuned and developed a true Jaguar,” declared Graham Wilkins, the chief product engineer of the all-new E-Pace. “Months of intense testing on roads and tracks around the world have delivered a compact performance SUV that is true to Jaguar’s performance DNA.”

The second stage of the leaping cat’s sport utility vehicle offensive, the E-Pace will be followed by Jaguar’s first-ever electric vehicle in the form of the I-Pace. With an interior design heavily influenced by that of the Range Rover Velar and a dual-motor powertrain expected to pack 400 ponies, the I-Pace appears to be a hit in the making for the Coventry-based automaker.