Electric cars are boring. Electric cars can give up on you in the middle of nowhere if you run out of charge. Electric cars cannot perform as well as their ICE counterparts. These common misbeliefs are getting thwarted everyday by the modern crop of electric cars. Take the Jaguar I-Pace for instance, which recently completed the ‘Everesting Challenge’ by climbing a height of 8,848 m – equivalent to the height of Mount Everest – on a single charge of its 90kWh battery.
More details
It was helmed by Olympic and World champion cyclist, Elinor Barker MBE. The concept of Everesting is simple, yet extreme: complete a series of runs up an incline until achieving an elevation gain of 8,848m – equal to an ascent of Mount Everest – and the popularity of this endurance challenge boomed among cyclists during the pandemic.
The narrow ribbon of asphalt is defined by a series of sweeping bends and gradients of up to 20 per cent as it climbs 547m from the start point used for the challenge to a peak of 848m. Elinor completed 16.2 repeats of the 3.6-mile/5.8km climb (a 7.2-mile/11.6km loop in total) using the I-PACE’s regenerative braking technology to generate approximately 60 per cent of additional available energy over the total 16 descents.
Having covered 124-miles (199.6km) in total, including an eight-mile drive to the start point on the fell, the I-PACE completed its energy intensive challenge with 31 per cent battery charge remaining – enough to drive for up to 80-miles (128.7km) more.
Official statement
Elinor Barker, MBE, said: “I watched with fascination as cyclists took up the Everesting challenge during lock down – even as a professional rider, it’s a daunting feat of endurance, so I was happy to do it behind the wheel of the all-electric Jaguar I-PACE. When I found out that Jaguar Racing drivers typically need to regenerate 30 per cent of their I-TYPE’s battery capacity in a Formula E race, as a competitor I naturally wanted to beat that figure! I’m delighted to have smashed that target – all while enjoying the comfort, silent power delivery and single-pedal driving of the I-PACE.”
Specs
The Jaguar I-Pace is powered by a mega 90 kWh Lithium-ion battery that delivers 400bhp of power from its two electric motors. Also, to reduce the customer’s stress, these 90 kWh Lithium-ion batteries will come with 8 years or 160,000 km warranty.
JLR also claims that this electric-SUV is fully-loaded, even in the base variant. The standard feature list includes- 19-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, Full LED headlamps and tail-lamps setup, and Jaguar’s ‘InControl’ connected car tech.