This post was originally published on Autocar
Studio model here was designed primarily to demonstrate the J-Pace’s interior…
Premium SUV, axed three years ago, would have been a sibling of the current Range Rover and Range Rover Sport
This is the first glimpse of the Jaguar J-Pace premium SUV, which was cancelled three years ago, when development was well advanced.
The J-Pace would have been a sibling model to the current Range Rover and Range Rover Sport, being built on the same MLA ‘flex-fuel’ platform.
The studio model pictured here was built primarily to demonstrate the J-Pace’s interior and interior packaging to company management, according to an insider.
That means little of the final production details of the exterior styling can be seen but the J-Pace’s appearance would have clearly been strongly related to the F-Pace, which remains the only Jaguar car currently in production.
The J-Pace interior, however, is almost complete. By the standard of today’s screen-focused designs, the J-Pace is surprisingly classical, with a strong traditional luxury feel, which extends to the seats and door trims.
This particular version has a dashboard dominated by wood trim, though sportier aluminium and carbon trims would probably have been optional.
The J-Pace would have closely followed today’s Range Rover specification, being just over 5m in length and with the same range of straight-six and V8 petrol and diesel mild-hybrid engines, plus the option of plug-in hybrid powertrains.
Had the J-Pace reached the showrooms, an all-electric version would have probably also been launched next year. A seven-seat version was also rumoured. It would have been built at the JLR plant in Solihull, alongside the big Range Rovers.
Currently, the F-Pace is priced from £45,000, which means the J-Pace would probably have cost from at least £75,000.
It’s not known why JLR decided to cancel the J-Pace and its sibling car, the XJ, though mediocre sales projections could have been one reason.
Officially, then-JLR boss Thierry Bolloré said Jaguar’s future was “elevating itself” from being a premium brand to being a (pure-EV) super-luxury brand.