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6 years ago

THE JAGUAR #01

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  • Jaguar
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In this issue we return to top level motorsport but not in a conventional way, and by doing so accelerate the development of our electric powertrains. In tandem, we introduce our Jaguar I-PACE Concept vehicle - a revolutionary new model available to reserve now for delivery in 2018.

FORMULA E generator has

FORMULA E generator has been converted to run on a glycerin biodiesel by-product loosely based on sea algae. The unit, cables and control box follow the series around the world in three shipping containers, and produces more than enough energy to keep all 20 racing cars charged. Successful e-power in mainstream cars means dispelling key problems like range anxiety, and making it as bulletproof an energy source as possible. While the sport strives to build its credibility among a motorsport audience used to noisy internal combustion, the value of Formula E to Jaguar is self-evident. This isn’t just about motor racing as entertainment, this is part of a company-wide ‘Race To Innovate’ ethos. Data acquisition is another crucial area: during a Formula E event, each battery logs around 1GB of data each day, and can also record 500 channels of data up to 1000 times per second. Here’s another tidbit: each battery cell has 25 times more energy and can provide 400 times more power than those in the average mobile phone. The batteries themselves have enough juice to charge a smartphone for 4745 consecutive days, and pack the same amount of energy as 10,000 conventional AA alkaline batteries. “A lot of what we know about internal combustion is in the past – you’re building on the work of your forefathers,” McNamara says. “With batteries, we’re in the Wild West right now, we’re asking big questions about how best to cool them, about exactly what’s going in those cells…it’s a very challenging area, and there are fewer fixed solutions.” Richard Devenport, a research manager for Jaguar in Formula E, is convinced that the electrification tipping point is imminent, and picks up on McNamara’s themes. “Motorsport drives innovation and always has. We don’t have years and years of experience with electric motors. With combustion, there’s been 120 years of development – you iterate, move on. I’m feeding back what’s going on here into Jaguar as it’s happening. I don’t wait until the end of the year and write a report. If it’s worth doing, I’m on the phone the next morning. “This technology is now moving very fast. Think of it in terms of the way mobile phones changed in the early 2000s, Gerd Mäuser (top left) Panasonic Jaguar Racing Chairman with racer Mitch Evans and James Barclay (above) Team Director keep an eye on the team’s debut the upgrades that were going on. That’s the state of electric vehicles at the moment. There’ll be a point when battery range will optimize. Then range anxiety will disappear, and the focus will switch to the drive aspects, and to reducing weight. The next few years are going to be absolutely fascinating.” But ultimately it’s a racing series, and that boils down to 20 gladiators trying to outwit each other against a shifting backdrop of variables. “The drivers are very busy in the cars,” team boss James Barclay says. “They have to be as quick as possible while meeting their energy targets – that’s the real trick in this championship. There’s more ‘regen’ this year, and trying to be quick while regenerating can be difficult, because there’s more drag on the rear axle. It’s similar to having too much brake bias on the rear. There are effectively three modes: you can lift and coast, you can harvest energy under braking, or you can pull a paddle to trigger regen. The driver has to develop the best technique, while racing, overtaking or defending on a bumpy street circuit.” Innovative. Electrifying. Competitive. Formula E is all three. PHOTOGRAPHY: SPACESUIT, LAT 38 THE JAGUAR

DRIVING THE FORMULA E: TWO YEARS AGO, WRITER JASON BARLOW HAD A VERY EXCLUSIVE DRIVE ON ONE OF THE VERY FIRST FORMULA E PROTOTYPES. HOLD ON! *Always follow local speed limits. Well this is odd. Like any modern racing car, the race harness, helmet, HANS device and protective cockpit sides initially leave you feeling highly claustrophobic. Physical movement is severely restricted. But in Formula E, the oddness comes in another unpredictable form: electricity. The car’s battery pack is encased in a clever carbon sandwich, and there’s a triple layer safety system. A green light ahead of me will go red if it all fails, and if it does I have to climb out across the nosecone and jump down. Do anything else and, well, you remember your physics lessons, right? It quickly gels. The wheel has a flickering LED display, monitoring the car’s systems, speed and lap delta. Beneath it sit a series of rotary knobs, the most important of which remaps the ECU to serve up full qualifying power equivalent to 270hp, or the race mode’s 180hp. Wise to start with that, I reckon. This prototype weighs about 2,000 lbs. with me on-board, so it’ll be fast enough to keep my attention, especially around the swoops and crests of Donington race track. Top speed is limited to 150 mph, but 60 mph takes less than three seconds*. Instant torque from standstill served up by e-power is its most addictive quality. At least it’s dry – the famous Craner Curves in the wet have tripped up far better drivers than me. But the Formula E car is reassuringly easy to drive. No need to worry about getting temperature into the tires. No need to panic about getting into a big aero zone either, given the relative lack of downforce (the FIA didn’t want teams chasing costly incremental aero gains, so there isn’t that much downforce). Just push the accelerator and hold on. The chassis is terrific, and it’s clear that on a dry track you’d have to be really going some to overwhelm those Michelins. The development team’s efforts on driveability are apparent — it just goes, at least until the batteries are depleted. Do you miss the sensation of pistons in cylinders, or that explosive fuel/air cocktail? Less than you’d think. E-power is a seamless rush, a different sort of energy, yes, but still propulsive. The rush of air around the open cockpit and tire noise fill in the gaps in the car’s sonic armory. The cars will also become more powerful as battery efficiency improves. Season-long tire durability was an early mission statement (the tires are different for season three), and there’s a huge amount of grip. That doesn’t stop the cars sliding around dusty and bumpy street tracks though, as we’ve seen in the first two seasons. “They can be quite lively on those street circuits,” Jaguar driver Adam Carroll says. “The cars are very mechanical. The aero doesn’t overwhelm the mechanical grip, which is why the cars can follow each other so closely.” Not just a race for innovation, but a full-blooded racing spectacle too. THE JAGUAR 39

 

JAGUAR

THE JAGUAR MAGAZINE

 

JAGUAR MAGAZINE celebrates creativity in all its forms, with exclusive features that inspire sensory excitement, from seductive design to cutting-edge technology.

The latest issue features a range of inspiring people: from Luke Jennings, creator of Villanelle, one of the most interesting television characters in recent times, to Marcus Du Sautoy, who ponders whether artificial intelligence is on the brink of becoming creative. Out on the road, we visit the US to explore the foodie heaven of Portland in a Jaguar I-PACE, take a Jaguar XE to the south of France to get a photographer’s viewpoint of the charming town of Arles, and much more.

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