[Jagernaut]

The Nurburgring is the testing ground for new performance models and the E-Pace is no different. Makes sens for Jaguar to test the mule there and it's been caught on camera. Now we just need to wait for someone to camp out at the track and record it in action.

 

[Pacer]

Another thing to look at is the body roll and how it's reacting to turns here

 

[Spots]

The body looks pretty stiff in corners and there doesn't seem to be much body roll and it's most likely travelling at substantial speed as it is the Nurburgring.

 

[Pacer]

Not necessarily. If they're testing something like steering response or suspension movements, etc. They could only be going say 50mph or 60mph? Can never tell with photos like these.

 

[JagMan]

Cameras can make a big difference in how things are percieved and this is no different especailly since its a moving object and the camera has to move with it. You can make a car going 200 MPH look still or even something moving at 5MPH look like 200MPH

 

[Spots]

Someone else caught an even better video of the 2018 Jaguar E-Pace at the Nürburgring, even a close up of the car making its way to the track.

 

[Jagernaut]

The E-Pace made a few very wide turns on the track, could they be attributed to the car's handling or the driver?

 

[Pacer]

They were still clipping good set of Apexes. I think they were doing fairly well following the lines

 

[Jagernaut]

The E-Pace did hit the apexes in most turns, guess the wider one where the car when out of line at around 2:24 was due to driver error. I won't be throwing the E-Pace around a track, but it's good to know that we can do some spirited driving around mountain roads without the fear of launching off the side.

 

[JagMan]

The E-Pace made a few very wide turns on the track, could they be attributed to the car's handling or the driver?

Tough to say, what we need is more information on its suspension and steering systems. For all we know it might have some next gen steering system or just run what we're already familiar with.

 

[Pacer]

I don't see any driver error around 2:24 ?

 

[Spots]

It's fine as long as the car stays within the lines and it could be down to the tires they're using. Jaguar probably tests out a variety of them before deciding on what to offer us.

 

[Pacer]

Tire choice is definitely a big thing and it could probably change a variety of times that we see it out on the tracks. There's that and they don't really put just anyone behind the seat of these things and say "go drive it around the ring"

 

[Jagernaut]

I assume test mules are driven by a combination of experienced drivers and Jaguar engineers, one to fully push the vehicle's capabilities on track and the other to see how the car reacts.

 

[Pacer]

For sure, sometimes even a mix to have one person monitoring real time to see what's going on and make changes on the fly.

 

[Spots]

With how increasingly complicated a car's ECU is getting, slight tweaks and copious amounts of track testing are needed and the E-Pace is no different.

 

[JagMan]

With how increasingly complicated a car's ECU is getting, slight tweaks and copious amounts of track testing are needed and the E-Pace is no different.

There's a lot of testing in virtual setups and simulations since its often easier to replicate scenarios than to find them for a lot of car makers. With todays technology that has gotten even more intense than ever before. Track testing is just a fraction of all testing.

 

[Pacer]

I agree for sure. Track testing is merely one portion, and a small portion at that, of what vehicles endure in order to get ironed out and figured out. Cars are left running on the dyno for long periods of time. They're put through various simulations. There are way too many tests that we wouldn't be able to list.

 

[Spots]

Speaking of testing, Jaguar actually details what their prototypes go through before the final product goes on sale. No doubt the E-Pace is going through something similar. https://www.jaguar.com/about-jaguar/reliability/testing-process.html

They simulate a 10-year 240,000 kilometre cycle within 12-weeks for each gearbox and engine combination.

 

[Pacer]

That's pretty intense, so I presume they do this all on dyne rollers for an extended period of time... that would be interesting to watch the results as it comes out real time