Skip advert
Advertisement

Crazy Jaguar 1+1 hints at brand’s EV future

Exclusive images of slimline premium Jaguar 1+1 electric car for crowded cities, which could arrive in the 2020s

Jaguar Land Rover’s group engineering director, Dr Wolfgang Ziebart, has revealed to Auto Express that the company could create a Jaguar 1+1 EV that’s around half the width of most premium cars.

The I-Pace Concept, Jag’s first electric car, stole the limelight at last November’s LA Motor Show, and buyers are already placing orders for the first production examples, due for delivery in 2018.

Advertisement - Article continues below

It’s understood that this warm acceptance of, and apparent appetite for, Jaguars with 100 per cent electric power has further motivated JLR to establish a very different and versatile range of pure EVs – including the 1+1 – by the 2020s. “Such a thing is possible,” Ziebart told us following the I-Pace’s global debut in LA.

The Indian-owned British brand boldly claims that in terms of models, tech and customer needs for the short-to-medium-term future, it has just about “thought of everything”. And it’s able and willing to rapidly translate those thoughts into showroom realities, catering for an increasingly wide variety of customers.

JLR is aware that most people in the world now live in squeezed towns and cities, where usable space for cars is increasingly hard to find. It sees its circa one-metre-wide Jag 1+1 as the sort of car a reasonably well-off enthusiast might have in their garage alongside an F-Pace or Range Rover. JLR’s philosophy is that just because a car is smaller, it needn’t lose its premium status, classy looks, quality feel, sense of space, desirability or strong safety credentials – and our exclusive images give you an idea of how a radical Jag 1+1 could look.

Advertisement - Article continues below
Skip advert
Advertisement
Skip advert
Advertisement - Article continues below

Best electric cars on sale

Ziebart is adamant the driver and rear passenger in a narrow 1+1 must have the same levels of side-impact protection as occupants in pricier electric, diesel or petrol JLR models that are nearly twice as wide.

Unlike the drivers in Jag’s Formula E racing single-seaters, the centrally positioned occupants in the roadgoing narrow Jag won’t have to be shoe-horned in, thanks to conventional doors and decent space.

During his time at sports car maker Artega, Ziebart had strong links with the 1+1 Karo all-terrain concept – described as an “electric funmobile with a car-like chassis and karting feel”. However, it wasn’t a ‘proper’ car; the Jaguar 1+1 will be.

Ziebart has hinted to us that the Magna Steyr factory in Graz, Austria, might be the most suitable production location for his all-new, radically different Jag – but he gave no clues about likely retail pricing.

Jaguar Land Rover to build electric cars in the UK

JLR witnessed the massive mistake VW recently made when it put a prohibitively expensive £100,000 tag on its XL1 two-seater. At the same time, the British brand has acknowledged the huge success BMW has enjoyed with its four-seat i3, which starts at a more reasonable £31,000.

If Jaguar can bring its baby 1+1 EV to market at a similar price, it will surely have a genuinely unique, much sought-after product on its hands.

What do you think of exclusive Jaguar 1+1 pictures? Would you buy it? Let us know below...

Skip advert
Advertisement
Chief columnist

Mike was one of the founding fathers of Auto Express in 1988. He's been motoring editor on four tabloid newspapers - London Evening News, The Sun, News of the World & Daily Mirror. He was also a weekly columnist on the Daily Telegraph, The Independent and The Sunday Times. 

Skip advert
Advertisement

Recommended

New Jaguar GT due soon as first of a three-car luxury line-up
Jaguar 4-door Coupe exclusive image

New Jaguar GT due soon as first of a three-car luxury line-up

Electric four-door saloon will be followed by coupé and SUV; you’ll “want a Jaguar, not need one” according to MD
News
9 Sep 2024
JLR is moving in the opposite direction to VW-Audi and Hyundai-Kia, and that’s not a good thing
Opinion - JLR

JLR is moving in the opposite direction to VW-Audi and Hyundai-Kia, and that’s not a good thing

Instead of following the successful business model adopted by VW-Audi, Toyota-Lexus and Hyundai-Kia, Mike Rutherford thinks JLR is moving in the oppos…
Opinion
4 Aug 2024
Jaguar is driving to survive so Formula E success has real value
Opinion - Jaguar Formula E

Jaguar is driving to survive so Formula E success has real value

Tom Jervis thinks Jag’s Formula E exploits are coming at a great time for the British brand, especially with a TV series in the works…
Opinion
23 Jul 2024
New Freelander EV brand born from Jaguar Land Rover and Chery partnership
Land Rover Freelander

New Freelander EV brand born from Jaguar Land Rover and Chery partnership

Co-developed models will initially be built for China, expanding into global markets later
News
19 Jun 2024

Most Popular

Car Deal of the Day: grab the Vauxhall Grandland family SUV for only £169 per month while stocks last
Vauxhall Grandland - front cornering

Car Deal of the Day: grab the Vauxhall Grandland family SUV for only £169 per month while stocks last

Our Deal of the Day for 3 October lets you get a fully loaded family SUV for well under £200 per month
News
3 Oct 2024
New entry-level Tesla Model Y Long Range RWD boasts 373-mile range
Tesla Model Y update 2024 - front

New entry-level Tesla Model Y Long Range RWD boasts 373-mile range

Tesla’s best-selling Model Y electric SUV now costs from £46,990 – exactly £2,000 more than before
News
4 Oct 2024
EVs outlasting ICE cars says Renault boss
Renault Zoe - front tracking

EVs outlasting ICE cars says Renault boss

Electric car batteries are holding up very well against the test of time
News
4 Oct 2024