The Goodwood Festival of Speed witnessed Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) exhibit its ultra-low carbon plug-in hybrid engineering research prototype, XJ_e. This prototype is the perfect demonstration of how CO2 emissions can be reduced by more than 70 per cent without altering the performance through an advanced parallel plug-in hybrid design. The car can attain 100 kmph from standstill in less than 6.5 seconds and boasts of a maximum speed of 250 kmph. The CO2 emissions of the XJ_e is less than 75 gkm and offers zero emission up to 40 km on electric power.
This innovative design by JLR is an attempt to develop top-notch low-carbon premium vehicles. The company has considered successful hybrid research demonstrators including the Limo Green and Range_e vehicles while designing the new prototype. Top UK technology companies extended expertise to JLR to engineer the advance research vehicle and specialise in ultra-low carbon vehicles. A part of this project has been funded by Technology Strategy Board of UK government under the REEVolution project.
Director, Engineering, JLR, Bob Joyce, said, “The XJ_e investigates how a 5.0-litre V8 engine could be replaced by an advanced 2.0-litre 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 JLR customers can expect some exciting low-carbon products in the future.”
The XJ_e prototype is an amalgamation of the best-in-class lightweight aluminium vehicle structure of Jaguar XJ and advanced plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) system. The car is powered by a 2.0-litre turbocharged direct-injection petrol powertrain, which also serves on Range River Evoque and is mated to a hybridised 8-speed automatic transmission. A 69kW motor and a 12.8kWh Lithium Ion battery pack is utilised to power the hybrid system. This battery pack which can be charged in roughly 4 hours by an external domestic supply of 240V can power the vehicle for 40 km.
The meaning of parallel hybrid design translates to mean that the XJ_e model can be driven by petrol, electric power or a combination of both. The design is optimised by the smart energy management system which chooses the most efficient mode depending upon the driving conditions. XJ_e offers peak system output of 332 hp to deliver a brilliant performance with enhanced mileage of 31.25 kmpl, which means that the car can run 1092 km on a full tank.
Joyce said, “JLR is the UK’s largest investor in automotive green technology, and the XJ_e is a great example of how we are developing exciting, future technology, working in collaboration with leading UK suppliers and technology companies.”
At Goodwood, three demonstrator vehicles were exhibited which utilise contemporary technology including the Jaguar XJ_e, the INFINITI EMERG-E and the Lotus Evora 414E. XJ_e was on display in the FoS-TECH Technology Pavilion. The major drive behind these cars is to create a supply chain for such ultra low carbon vehicle technologies in UK and enable suppliers to benefit in the global market.
