Jaguar I-Pace could STUFF Tesla's Model X in Ludicrous mode

Jaguar I-Pace could STUFF Tesla’s Model X in Ludicrous mode

The new Jaguar I-Pace electric SUV has already been shown to beat the Tesla Model X 100D in a short drag race, but it could beat Tesla’s Ludicrous mode too. If it wanted.

When Jaguar launched the I-Pace, they wanted to show that it had the measure of the Tesla Model X, not only by delivering a more rounded, more dynamic package, but also demonstrate it was so well sorted it could even beat the Tesla in a drag race.

Jaguar managed to show that by pitting the I-Pace against both the Tesla Model X 75D and 100D (in the video below – from around 15.00), with the Jaguar managing to beat both models despite Tesla’s claims.

But what Jaguar didn’t do was pit the I-Pace against a Model X with Ludicrous mode, Tesla’s ‘Easter Egg’ setting which delivers so much power there are videos all over the place of the Tesla destroying all supercar challenges.

But using Ludicrous Mode is something of a faff, taking half an hour to ‘Condition’ the batteries before the power is available, power which is pretty much a one-hit effort. So it’s impressive, but hardly a usable option in the real world.

That said, it does give the Tesla bragging rights the Jaguar just can’t match, but it seems that’s because Jaguar didn’t want to, not because it couldn’t. In fact, Jaguar believes it could stuff the Tesla in Ludicrous Mode, but has chosen not to do so.

Speaking to Motoring, Jaguar’s I-Pace Engineering Manager, Dave Shaw, said:

We weren’t looking for bragging rights, deliberately not… No. It certainly wasn’t because we couldn’t… It’s because we didn’t want to. We chose not to.
This car for us was all about proving that we’re an innovative company but also delivering a Jaguar. If you have a powerful battery, a powerful motor and you have the cabling in the car that will carry the current and the chemistry in the battery is such that… you can provide it to the motors… you can go as fast as you want. But then you get into the drivability and what you want the customer to feel.

So although Jaguar could best the Tesla’s bragging rights, they preferred to deliver a car which offers the very best balance of performance, dynamics and usability, rather than a pretty pointless mode to muller the batteries and motors.

Although we would rather like to see what the I-Pace could do if it threw the whole kit and caboodle at straight line performance.