DESIGN DETAILS

The I-PACE Concept allowed our designers the luxury of an uncompromised electric-only platform from the beginning. With a large battery pack between the wheels and motors on each axle, we had the opportunity to change the fundamental proportions of an SUV.

Firstly, with no engine to accommodate up front, the hood has no need to be as long as regular cars. As a result, the cabin can be pushed more towards the front of the car to give a purposeful ‘cab-forward’ look from the outside while creating much more space inside – including 70 mm of leg room for rear passengers.

This in turn allows for a bigger front windshield, which alongside the full-length panoramic glass roof, creates a greater feeling of space for all passengers.

Meanwhile, keeping the front and rear overhangs as short as possible and lengthening the space between the front and rear wheels – in order to house the larger battery pack vital to the vehicle’s longer range (377 km*) – gives the car a much more solid stance on the road.

Despite this pleasing visual sense of solidity, the I-PACE Concept is aerodynamically excellent for its class. Features that help to achieve its 0.29 C_d drag coefficient include the body’s curvy silhouette which lowers at higher speeds to smoothly cut through the air; door handles that stay flush with their panels and only deploy when needed; and cooling inlets that shut off when not required. There’s also a large aero-optimized air channel from the front grille to the base of the front windshield – similar to that of the Jaguar C-X75 concept car – which improves airflow when air does need to find a way through.

What is perhaps less known about aero efficiency is that the shape of the back of the vehicle is at least as important as the front. To that end, a slim rear spoiler reduces lift; the rakish angle of the rear window is aerodynamically beneficial (while still able to boast 530-litres of luggage space underneath); and the rear vents – where the exhaust pipes would be on a normal vehicle – channel turbulent air from the rear wheel arches into better shape behind the vehicle.

These are just a few of the ways in which the superb aesthetics of the I-PACE Concept contribute to the vehicle’s aerodynamic efficiency. It is this efficiency that helps to retain as much battery power as possible to extend the vehicle’s range.