Formula E Electric-Car Racing Series Gains Jaguar As ContenderFormula E Electric-Car Racing Series Gains Jaguar As Contender

Jaguar Land Rover is the latest carmaker to enter the Formula E electric-car racing series.
The British luxury manufacturer says its Jaguar brand will join the series for its third season, which begins next fall.
In discussing its entry, Jaguar said it hoped to gain technical experience with electric powertrains that could be applied to future production cars.
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It will work closely with Williams Advanced Engineering–the engineering arm of the Williams Formula One team.
The two entities previously collaborated on the aborted C-X75 plug-in hybrid supercar, which was recently resurrected for the James Bond movie Spectre.
Inaugurated in 2014, Formula E pits drivers in nearly-identical single-seat electric cars against each other on temporary street circuits around the world.
Jaguar electric race car for season three of the Formula E Championship
A few other manufacturers–including Audi, DS (a Citroën sub-brand), Mahindra, and Renault–already back teams.
But all teams this season must use identical Spark-Renault SRT_01e chassis. Jaguar’s renderings seem to indicate that this chassis will remain in use for 2016 as well.
Powertrains were also standardized for Formula E’s inaugural season in 2014, although teams were allowed to develop their own powertrain components for the 2015 season.
ALSO SEE: How Does Formula E Electric-Car Racing Work? What You Need To Know (Feb 2014)
While it’s unclear exactly how beneficial Formula E will be to the effort, it appears somewhat likely that Jaguar will develop a production electric car.
Jaguar previously applied for patents related to wireless-charging technology, as well as a trademark for the name “EV-Type.”
The name appears to reference the current F-Type sports car and its classic 1960s E-Type predecessor–fueling speculation that Jaguar would develop an electric sports car.
Jaguar electric race car for season three of the Formula E Championship
Earlier this year, Jaguar and partner brand Land Rover unveiled a battery-electric “research vehicle,” along with plug-in hybrid and mild-hybrid prototypes.
And there have also been reports that Jaguar is considering an electric SUV, which would rival the Tesla Model X and a forthcoming model from Audi.
MORE: Jaguar Electric SUV As Soon As 2017? ‘Radical’ Styling Planned
A recent report claimed this model would borrow styling from the C-X75, and could go on sale as early as 2017.
If that turns out to be the case, Formula E would be a great way to promote it.
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