Jaguar updated XJ plug-in hybrid prototype at the 2012 Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Okay so by the way, Goodwood Festival of Speed is The West Sussex-based Goodwood Motor Circuit originally which opened its gates to the public on September 1948 to host Britain’s very first post-war motor race meeting at a permanent venue. Twelve years earlier, Goodwood’s very first motor sport event was staged when a hill climb meeting was held for a small group of pre-war Lancia enthusiasts, hosted by the 9th Duke of Richmond, Freddie March.
Well coming back to our topic of discussion, we are discussing about the Jaguar XJ Plug-In Hybrid Prototype, which made its public debut at the UK’s 2012 CENEX Low Carbon Vehicle Event On 5th Spetember 2012.
So, the new Jaguar XJ Plug-In Hybrid Prototype is capable of accelerating from 0-60 mph in 6.5 seconds and delivering a top speed of 150 mph, the XJ prototype, dubbed the XJ_e, which delivers performance that’s on par with some sports car models also on show at Goodwood, but of course with better fuel economy than a compact.
Funded by the British government’s Technology Strategy Board through the REEVolution project, which is aimed at not only developing green vehicles, which holds the infrastructure to manufacture them as well, here the XJ_e shares much of its technology.
The luxury sedan uses a parallel plug-in hybrid setup that promises to cut CO2 emissions by 70 percent, while offering a pleasing level of performance.
The PHEV( plug-in hybrid electric vehicle) system combines a 2.0-liter turbocharged, direct-injected four-cylinder petrol engine, with a hybridized 8-speed automatic transmission.
The gearbox includes a 69kW (94 hp) electric motor/generator, which works with a 12.3kWh Li-Ion battery pack that can be charged using an external 240V domestic supply in around 4 hours.
Since it is a parallel hybrid, the car can rely on petrol power, electric power or a mix between the two. The hybrid powertrain comes with a total output of 334 hp, offering an efficiency of 3.2 liters per 100 km, 87 mpg and This translates to a complete driving range of around 680 miles (1092 km) on a full charge of the batteries and a single tank of gas.
Well talking about the other model from Jaguar, The 2013 Jaguar XJ picks up a supercharged 3.0-liter V-6 as its base engine instead of the previous model year’s 5.0-liter V-8 base option. EPA figures for the new engine are yet to be released but European tests have shown that the blown V-6 is around 33 percent more efficient despite only losing 50 horsepower on the V-8.
Speaking at the unveiling of the prototype, Jaguar engineering boss Bob Joyce said, “The XJ_e investigates how a 5.0-liter V-8 engine could be replaced by an advanced 2.0-liter hybrid powertrain to deliver similar performance and refinement, but with CO2 emissions of less than 75g/km. While the XJ_e is an experimental project, it highlights that Jaguar Land Rover customers can expect some exciting low-carbon products in the future.”
Well lets hope that this new “Greener Jaguar” proves a boon to all Plug-in-hybrid enthusiasts.
