Jaguar Explains I-PACE Thermal Management, Claims It Adds 30 Miles to the Range

The electric crossover is the first battery-powered model from Jaguar - hell, it didn't even have a hybrid - and word has it that even though the production version hasn't been shown yet, it is already in production at the Magna Steyr plant in Austria.

Either way, the I-PACE is going to be the start of the Jaguar booth at this year's Frankfurt Motor Show in September, with sales scheduled to start later this year in Europe and early 2018 in the U.S.

The company has insisted that the I-PACE Concept is a very close replica of the final model and that we shouldn't expect a lot of changes in both design or specs. In fact, Jaguar always talked about the concept as though it were the production car, and at least as far as exterior design goes, the latest spy shots seem to confirm that.

Jaguar has now released a clip that, besides boasting the brand beyond its merit (calling Jaguar 'at the forefront of the transportation revolution' is a bit of an overstatement), also explains how the thermal management system of the car works. Well, it's actually the I-PACE Concept's, but we've already talked about how easily the carmaker appears to mistake the two.

Just like an internal combustion engine, an electric car's battery also has an optimal temperature interval in which it performs at its best. If the former likes it a bit hotter - somewhere around 90 degree Celsius (194 degrees Fahrenheit) - the latter feels most at ease between 15 and 30 degrees Celsius (59 and 86 degrees Fahrenheit).

The clip casually makes the connection between the I-PACE Concept and Jaguar's I-TYPE Formula E racecar, suggesting that the two share the same thermal management system. But the I-PACE needs to do something the race car doesn't: heat or cool down the interior of the car as well.

The secret there is the use of a heat pump. This allows the I-PACE to use as little energy from the battery as possible for adjusting the cockpit temperature, resulting in range savings of over 30 miles (50 kilometers).

"The target with the I-PACE Concept was to create the best electric vehicle on the planet," says Wolfgang Ziebart, Jaguar’s technical design director, "and I think we have succeeded in doing so. We have created something really revolutionary."

Assuming everything goes as planned, Jaguar should be the second of the traditional carmakers to come up with a competitive EV after GM's Bolt hatchback. However, the market appears to be crowding really quickly with Audi, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, and Volkswagen all set to release their own all-electric models over the next one or two years. And if the I-PACE is half as good as the company touts it to be and it also manages to keep the price to a reasonable level, we might have ourselves a winner.