Jaguar F-PACE: More business for vendors

Jaguar’s F-PACE performance crossover for with its lightweight aluminium architecture provides further business for suppliers of major technology and component suppliers.

The powertrain range will consist of the in-house JaguarLandRover (JLR) 180PS 2-litre Ingenium diesel (made in the i54 engine plant outside Wolverhampton) in manual RWD/AWD mode, as well as automatic AWD; the 300PS 3-litre diesel automatic in AWD configuration; and the 380PS 3-litre V6 gasoline engine in automatic AWD mode.

This is a further business opening for the V6 diesel with its compacted graphite iron (CGI) vee block. The engine is sourced from Ford’s Dagenham Engine Plant. The supercharged V6 gasoline engine on the other hand is sourced from Jaguar's 'plant within a plant' at Ford's Bridgend Engine Plant.

The F-PACE, which includes features from the F-TYPE sports car, has a light, stiff body structure that is 80 per cent aluminium. Jaguar claims it is the only aluminium-intensive monocoque in the segment. Additional weight savings come from the composite tailgate and use of magnesium for complex parts such as the cross-car beam.

Once again, the structure will make extensive use of Henrob self-piercing rivets (SPRs) that are common to other JaguarLandRover aluminium-intensive vehicles. Henrob is part of Atlas Copco.

Built alongside the Jaguar XE at the company’s flagship Solihull manufacturing plant, Jaguar’s latest model has resulted in an additional £120 million of investment in the facility. This takes the total amount invested in Solihull’s ‘factory within a factory’ to £620 million – the largest investment in the 70-years history of the Midlands based plant.

The UK supply chain has benefited from Jaguar’s product expansion with a total of £13 billion of UK supplier contracts awarded, with £5 billion connected to the F-PACE programme.

As before, Jaguar is stamping its own major aluminium body panels.

The rear-wheel drive 180PS 2-litre diesel manual transmission model weighs as little as 1,665kg and achieves CO₂ emissions of 129g/km. With the 380PS 3.0-litre supercharged V6 petrol engine from the F-TYPE under its sculpted aluminium bonnet, F-PACE can accelerate from 0-62 mile/h in 5.5 seconds before reaching an electronically-limited top speed of 155mph.

Jaguar also claims the body’s high torsional stiffness enables the F-TYPE-derived double wishbone front suspension and Integral Link rear suspension to perform “even better”.

Elements such as slender full-LED headlights, forged 22-inch forged alloy wheels and short front overhang carry the design vision of the C-X17 concept through to production.

The wheelbase and track dimensions of F-PACE are not shared with any other Jaguar. At 4,731mm long and with a 2,874mm wheelbase, the vehicle offers the sleek profile and short front overhang characteristic of Jaguar design together with an exceptionally spacious interior.

Together with Torque Vectoring as standard and an Electric Power Assisted Steering system tuned to give the best possible feel and response, the all-new F-PACE sets the benchmark for ride and handling.