The Jaguar I-PACE is roaming around the streets of Dublin, having been specially fitted out to map the streets and measure air quality data for Google.
It’s been quite a turnaround for Jaguar in recent years. You’re unlikely to have expected the luxury brand favoured by petrolheads of a certain age to become not only a standard-bearer for electric cars, but to even be chosen to measure poor air quality (rather than being blamed for it), but that’s what’s happening in Dublin starting this month.
The Jaguar I-PACE is the very first all-electric vehicle that Google has used to take photos for its Street View feature on Google Maps, and on top of that it will also measure emissions of nitrogen dioxide, carbon dioxide, and airborne particulates. This data will be analysed by Google in order to develop maps of street-level pollution in the city of Dublin.
In order to make the vehicle suitable for the task, the engineers at Jaguar Land Rover have refitted the I-PACE with a roof mounting, added rear window glass that allows for wiring, and redesigned the interior switchgear especially for Google Street View’s needs as part of the collaboration which will last 12 months.
Related: Electric shock: Jaguar cars will ditch fossil fuels from 2025
This news is just the latest installment of Jaguar’s recent eco-friendly evolution, which continues apace. The ambitious project means that all Jaguar cars will be electric by 2025, and the manufacturer aims to be completely carbon neutral by 2039. These targets outstrip the official aims of the UK government, which plans to introduce a ban on all new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.
By that time, we hope that the results of air quality tests such as the one outlined above will have significantly improved, as fossil fuels are radically phased out in favour of cleaner and greener tech at street level.
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