With over 40 engines vying for top spot, the 350PS to 450PS category was always going to be a fiercely contested award, but very few would have predicted that the result would come down to just a single point.
In the end it was Jaguar Land Rover’s remarkable new all-electric powertrain that took the title, raking in 191 points from the International Engine + Powertrain of the Year panel and beating competition from the likes of Porsche’s turbocharged
3-litre, which forms the heart of the 911 Carrera, and BMW’s twin-turbo six-cylinder, which sits under the hood of the M4 Competition.
“Jaguar’s first-ever electric car is an amazingly polished performer with eco cred to equal anything wearing a Tesla badge,” said Sydney Daily Telegraph’s John Carey about the Jaguar I-Pace, which is powered by the award-winning drivetrain.
As with any BEV, the comparison with Tesla is inevitable. In recent years the Californian tech company has proved to be the brand to beat when it comes to electric powertrain solutions, but the I-Pace success story suggests that JLR’s EV tech could continue to be the benchmark for the 350PS to 450PS category.
The I-Pace is an extremely impressive vehicle – offering zero emissions output in combination with truly exceptional performance.
Thanks to a liquid-cooled 90kWh lithium-ion battery, two synchronous permanent magnet electric motors and a new single-speed epicyclic transmission, the Jaguar EV400 crossover SUV generates a maximum power output of 400PS and 696Nm of torque. This means that it will get to 100km/h in just 4.8 seconds and reach a top speed of 200km/h – a notably impressive figure for a car that weighs in at over 2.2 metric tons.
The OEM has also gone some way toward dispelling the range anxiety that has slowed BEV uptake for so long, with a claimed battery range of 470km/292 miles. The EV is also capable of an 80% recharge in just 40 minutes with a 100kW DC charger, and a complete charge in under 13 hours from a standard 7kW AC plug.