Jaguar Says Electrified Performance Cars Are Coming

May. 23, 2020 4:11 PM ET by Jared Rosenholtz Electric Vehicles / 1 Comment

Which model will be first?

Jaguar Land Rover's Special Vehicle Operations team is responsible for building all of the company's performance-oriented SVR and ultra-luxurious SVAutobiography models. These badges are often placed on the most expensive versions of their respective Jaguar and Land Rover models and sales have been tremendous. JLR says it has sold 9,500 SV-branded vehicles in the 2019-2020 fiscal year, which is a massive increase of 64 percent.

Customers clearly love these SVO-built cars and JLR would be silly not to expand the lineup with even more models. Speaking with Auto Express, SVO managing director Michael van der Sande confirmed the company "will be developing electrified versions of our cars, be that fully electrified or plug-in hybrids."

2019-2020 Jaguar I-Pace Front View Driving

You might immediately think that van der Sande is referring to a faster version of the JLR's only current electric car, the 2020 Jaguar I-Pace. Jaguar has already built the Formula E-inspired I-Pace eTROPHY, so it would make sense for these improvements to make their way to the road car. Surprisingly, this is not the case.

"I-Pace is not on that path, but there are various other things we are working on which we can't talk about, but we're very interested in electrification. That's why we get involved in the eTrophy," van der Sande said. "The technology transfer, the learning applies to that car and other cars but we're not planning an SVR I-Pace at the moment."

2018-2020 Land Rover Range Rover Sport Front View Driving

JLR might be holding off on an I-Pace SVR because that model sits on its own unique platform that won't be used on any other vehicle. Instead, SVO could wait for the upcoming electric Jaguar XJ and Range Rover, which will be based on the MLA architecture. The next-generation XJ is rumored to produce around 800 horsepower, which sounds like plenty for a future SVR model.

On the opposite end of JLR's business, the company plans to build more continuation cars. "We're most of the way through our run of 25 D-Types," van der Sande said. "And we're looking at a few opportunities going forward. I think you will see continuation models being offered occasionally by our Classic department."

Source Credits: Auto Express

Jaguar Says Electrified Performance Cars Are Coming

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