Jaguar Gets Into Formula E: Meet the I-TYPE 1
Pretty much every manufacturer realized that the way forward includes electric drivetrains. While a lot of automakers are trying to develop road-going vehicles powered by electrons, Jaguar will use a strategy they perfected over nearly a century. They will build an electric racecar, and then do whatever needs to be done to make it win. Then, they will use the technological advancements developed by the race engineers to upgrade their production vehicles.
This is why the British manufacturer announced the I-TYPE 1, its first fully-electric race car. Name-wise, the brand kind of went from F to I, bypassing G and H entirely.
According to Formula E’s new rules, teams can now build their own drivetrains: where it used to be a monotype series, teams now have much more freedom. This is why Jaguar decided to build its single-seater racecar in partnership with Panasonic.
This is the first time Jaguar returns to international racing since their Formula 1 team folded in 2004.
Starting next year, Formula E will enable the teams to create their vehicles from scratch (chassis, bodywork and drivetrain). Then other manufacturers, like Audi and BMW might join in on the fun.