Jaguar Land Rover SVO plans to build a high-performance EV

It has been a little over five years since Jaguar Land Rover established Special Vehicle Operations, and in that time the in-house tuner and personalization division has enjoyed a string of successes, selling 9,500 vehicles last year, up 64% from the previous year.

SVO focuses on both luxury and high-performance vehicles, with the latter category being the most successful. The division's best-selling models include the Jaguar F-Pace SVR and the Land Rover Range Rover Sport SVR, both powered by a roaring supercharged V-8 engine.

But this does not mean that SVO does not see a future in which electrified cars will make up the majority of vehicles on the road.

In an interview with Auto Express published Wednesday, SVO managing director Michael van der Sande said the division plans to launch both hybrid and electric vehicles in the coming years. Just don't expect the Jaguar I-Pace, Jaguar Land Rover's only EV, to be the first electric vehicle tuned by SVO.

According to van der Sande, the I-Pace is not planned, but the lessons learned from this vehicle, especially from racing in the I-Pace eTrophy series, will help SVO develop future performance EVs. the I-Pace eTrophy is a Formula E round, a one-make race series held in the round. The series started in 2018 but will end later this year due to the ongoing Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic.

Skipping the I-Pace makes sense since the vehicle is based on a custom-built platform and Jaguar Land Rover has been working on a highly modular, known as MLA (Modular Longitudinal Architecture) for future EVs. This makes sense, as the company is switching to a platform known as MLA (Modular Longitudinal Architecture) for future EVs. The platform also supports internal combustion powertrains, which will debut in the redesigned Jaguar XJ later this year.