JAGUAR has announced a new one-make race series for its electric I-Pace SUV.

The category, expected to make its debut at the end of 2018, will feature as a support category for the fifth season of the FIA’s all-electric Formula E championship.

Jaguar joined the category in 2016, and is now investing further with the one-make support series, dubbed the eTrophy, racing at every round of the 2018/19 Formula E calendar.

This means a field of 20 electric SUVs will be bumping body panels on street circuits around the world, in city centres from Hong Kong to New York.

The category is for amateur ‘gentlemen drivers’, with Jaguar providing ‘arrive and drive’ packages. The field of paying customers will be joined on the grid by a new VIP driver at each round.

“We’ve always said we want to prove our electrification technologies on the track – this is the proof,” Gerd Mäuser, Chairman, Jaguar Racing, said

“I am looking forward to seeing a full grid of Jaguar I-Pace racecars in late 2018, soon after the first Jaguar I-PACE hits the road in Europe.

“Ultimately this innovative series will enhance the technology in our future electric vehicles and benefit our customers.”

Technical specifications of the cars, full race calendar, and costs for the eTrophy will be released next year.

It’d be easy to be cynical about a racing series that exclusively features electric SUVs – it doesn’t exactly scream excitement in the sense of traditional motorsport. But don’t dismiss the category completely too soon.

One-make categories are legendary for producing close and exciting racing, throw in a production body which will be capable of plenty of door-to-door action, and the eTrophy could be just the recipe electric motorsport needed to build a bigger audience.

Of course, there will be downsides, namely a lack of excitement in terms of noise, and potentially outright speed. But some of the best motorsport events in the world aren’t necessarily the fastest.

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