Making its debut public drive just hours ahead of the 2018 BMW i Berlin E-Prix on Saturday May 19, Formula E Founder and CEO Alejandro Agag will be the man behind the wheel as the car makes its way around the 2.37km circuit at Berlin's Templehoff airport.
First announced back in September 2017, the I-Pace eTrophy will run as a support series for the ABB FIA Formula E Championship from Season 5. “I’m honoured to drive the Jaguar I-Pace eTrophy racecar in Berlin - it’s an exciting day for not only Jaguar but the ABB FIA Formula E Championship," said Agag. "When we launched the eTrophy series, I said I wanted to get behind the wheel and here we are eight months later. This glimpse into the future will be a special moment for the championship as we look ahead to the next generation of electric racing.”
Relying on the learnings from the Panasonic Jaguar Racing team, which joined the championship in 2016, the I-Pace eTrophy is a race-ready version of Jag's first all-electric I-Pace road car, due to go on sale later this year. "We are delighted that Alejandro will be the first person to drive the eTrophy racecar. He has been such a strong supporter of Jaguar following our entry into Formula E," said James Barclay, Team Director Jaguar Racing. “Jaguar returned to racing with the mission to ‘Race to Innovate’. For Jaguar Racing this is another step in our commitment to electrification. We launched the Jaguar I-Pace earlier this year, which applies learnings from our time in Formula E and transfers them to the development of our electric road cars. Now, we will see the next step in our electrification journey as our Special Vehicle Operations team adapt the Jaguar I-Pace for the world’s first production battery electric vehicle championship.”