A couple of days ago, Panasonic Jaguar Racing revealed their brand-new all electric racecar to challenge for season six of the ABB FIA Formula E Championship. Part of the event was revealing that Panasonic Jaguar Racing has partnered with the LEGO Group and Scalextric to create mini versions of Jaguar’s racecars set to go on sale soon. Below are the details.
Jaguar returned to racing in October 2016, becoming the first premium manufacturer to join the all-electric ABB FIA Formula E Championship street racing series. In 2019, the team won the Rome E-Prix – Jaguar’s first international motorsport victory since 1991. Formula E is a real world test bed for Jaguar to fearless progress the future of electrification.
As an official manufacturer team in Formula E, Panasonic Jaguar Racing designs its own powertrain, which includes the motor, transmission, inverter, and rear suspension. To control costs, the carbon fiber chassis and battery are common components and the same for all twelve teams. This allows the focus to be on developing electric vehicle powertrains that are efficient and lightweight, which will improve the performance and range of future Jaguar Land Rover electric vehicles.
Here are some highlights about the new electric racecar: The Jaguar I-TYPE 4, featuring an all new motor, gearbox, invertor, rear suspension and dampers has seen its overall weight reduced offering improved handling and performance. The lightest and most efficient powertrain the team has ever produced, the Jaguar I-TYPE 4 has a lower center of gravity and will allow the team to push towards even more points, podiums and wins in season six. The new powertrain also features a new vehicle control module – which increases the processing capacity and allows faster rate of software development – this puts Jaguar at the forefront of battery electric vehicle innovation.
This is the second year teams will be racing with the futuristic Generation 2 racecars. Teams have two racecars, one per driver, which will be used for the full race distance. Beyond its all-electric concept, Formula E is unique in the world of motorsport for its choice of venues. The championship takes place on temporary street circuits in the center of the world’s major cities including Diriyah, Rome, Paris, New York, and ending in a double-header race weekend in London.
James Barclay, Panasonic Jaguar Racing Team Director said: “The start of a new season is an exciting time for the team. After months of hard work, we are excited to show the world the new Jaguar I-TYPE 4. We have applied all of our experience in Formula E to date and our latest innovations into the new racecar and the development team have created what we believe will be our most competitive Formula E car to date. We’ve learnt how to win as a team and we are hungry for more in season six. We can’t wait to get racing!”
Panasonic Jaguar Racing also partnered with leading toy manufacturers the LEGO Group and Scalextric to create mini versions of the electric cars. The LEGO Speed Champions set featuring the Formula E Panasonic Jaguar Racing GEN2 car and Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY will be available from 1 January 2020. The Jaguar I-TYPE Scalextric will be on sale from Spring 2020.
LEGO Speed Champions has been a fantastic line for racecar fans, featuring minifig-scale versions of real life racecars as well as classic cars. Since the collection began in 2015, thirty-four LEGO Speed Champions sets have been released, with 6-7 new sets at the beginning of each year. This collection is not overwhelming on the wallet, fun to build and play with, and great for display. You can check out the currently available sets at the LEGO Speed Champions section of the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? Do you collect the LEGO Speed Champions cars? Do you have a favorite? And how do you like the new #76898 LEGO Speed Champions Formula E Panasonic Jaguar Racing GEN2 Car & Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY set? Are you planning to get it? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below.
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