Jaguar, as you might have noticed, hasn’t been too active in the world of motorsport as of late. After seven wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (1951, 1953, 1955, 1956, 1957, 1988, 1990) and a disappointing stint in Formula 1 (2000 to 2004, no points, no pole positions, no fastest laps), Jaguar is returning to the motorsport arena. This time, the works team has entered the Formula E series.
Officially dubbed Panasonic Jaguar Racing I-Type 1, the single-seat electric vehicle will be driven by a two main driver and a reserve driver: Adam Carroll, Mitch Evans, and Ho-Pin Tung. The thing is, this isn’t just Jaguar having money to burn. The British carmaker’s entry into Formula E is, in fact, “a platform to develop the next generation of electric powered road cars.”
On top of that, managing a Formula E works team is an easier and way cheaper affair than going big in the highest class of single-seat auto racing. After a similar announcement from Audi, Jaguar becomes the second factory-backed team to confirm its presence in the 2016-2017 Formula E championship. Understandably, everyone at Panasonic Jaguar Racing is getting psyched up about what’s in store for them, including the chairman.
"Today marks a new chapter in the history of Jaguar Racing. As the first premium car manufacturer in Formula E we are proud to be back in top-level motorsport,” said Gerd Mauser, the head honcho of the works team. “The future is changing and we're part of that change," added the big kahuna.
PR talk aside, the British carmaker is very interested in playing ball in the all-electric segment. The bottomless rumor mill is currently suggesting that Jaguar is considering to chip in with BMW and Ford to build a battery factory.
While that is just a rumor at the present moment, the loud and proud Jaguar brand is currently working on an electric sport utility vehicle. Dubbed Jaguar E-Pace, our spy photographers caught it on camera earlier in 2016.
After a 1:43 scale model of a Ferrari 250 GTO sparked Mircea's interest for cars when he was a kid, an early internship at Top Gear sealed his career path. He's most interested in muscle cars and American trucks, but he takes a passing interest in quirky kei cars as well. Full profile
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