Hardcore Jaguar I-Pace SVR Is Still Coming

Last month, Jaguar made a surprise announcement that it will become an all-electric brand from 2025, five years earlier than planned. While the next-generation electric Jaguar XJ has been scrapped, Jaguar Land Rover is planning to launch six fully electric models within the next five years. Don’t think, however, that Jaguar has forgotten about the I-Pace, the automaker’s first, and currently the only, EV in its current lineup.

For years, there have been rumors that Jaguar’s Special Vehicle Operation division is planning to launch a hardcore I-Pace SVR, but this still hasn’t happened. Speaking with Australia’s Car Sales, Jaguar SVO boss Michael van der Sande has assured the high-performance Jaguar I-Pace SVR is still coming. Better late than never.

Originally, the I-Pace SVR was expected to be inspired by the I-Pace e-Trophy racer, but van der Sande explained that the SVO division wasn’t involved with the early development of the I-Pace, which is why the SVR version still hasn’t arrived.

“We got to the I-Pace late,” he said. “Normally we like to be at the table in the early platform discussions so we can impact and tech-protect for an SVO derivative and, frankly, we were not there so it’s much more difficult to do something with that car in a viable way. [That’s] one of the key reasons there’s not an SVR expression of that car, but now we might still do something with the I-Pace, because that car has a lot of life left in it.”

The SVO boss didn’t go into specifics but hinted that the I-Pace SVR will have more power and a modified chassis, adding that giving the electric cars the SVR treatment is easier than combustion-powered models like the F-Pace SVR and opens up new possibilities. “Multi-mode motors, e-diff, torque vectoring, there’s lots of opportunity to tune the car to suit the character of what you want to achieve,” he said.

To be more powerful than the regular model, the I-Pace SVR will need to have over 394 horsepower and 512 lb-ft of torque. Increasing power could affect the driving range, however. For reference, the current I-Pace will cover 234 miles on a single charge.