Jaguar Land Rover plans to hire 50 more engineers at its Northwest Portland research center as it launches a new "innovation incubator" to invest in startups and collaborate with them on new automotive technologies.

The British automaker announced plans for its Portland site in 2013, a 35-person research facility in a collaboration with Intel to build "infotainment" technologies into vehicles. The goal is to build productive, useful technology into vehicles that can improve the time people spend driving or riding without distracting them from the road.

"I want to make use of the time rather than just be stuck in traffic," said Matt Jones, JLR's Portland chief.

JLR established a 15,000-square-foot research site at Northwest Quimby Street and 14th, at the outer edge of the Pearl District, and is now seeking 25,000-square-feet to house the incubator and expanded engineering team.

Portland has a rapidly growing tech community but doesn't have a lot of automotive experience. That's fine with Jones, who moved here from the United Kingdom more than two years ago to open JLR's Portland office.

"I don't need an automotive engineer to work out what people will want to do in 2017," he said. "I need people, people who are creative."

JLR's Portland office includes a large automotive simulator, but Jones said thinking up new technology is sometimes as simple as setting up four office chairs to imagine what would be useful to drivers - and what would be more than they can handle.

"It's almost kindergarten-type role play," he said. "That allows you to explore what you can do in a car."

A new model Jaguar XF comes equipped with an Intel-powered computer that connects to smartphones to track weather, parking, routes and arrival times. By backing startups, housing a half-dozen for six months at a stretch in a Portland office, Jones said he hopes they will be able to focus on ideas rather than the hurdles of starting a business.

JLR's first Portland investment is a startup called Vonsor is the first startup to receive an investment in connection with JLR's new program. It enables drivers to video their road trips and upload them to social media.

Vonsor President Justyn Baker was just getting the company started two years ago when he ran into Jones at a Demolicious startup event in Portland.

"We just started chatting in line before they opened the doors," Baker said. JLR's Portland site was newly open, Baker said, so both companies "had some growing up to do together."

Over time, though, their interests continued to converge and JLR is now the main investor in Vonsor, which consists of Baker and two part-time employers. JLR provides Baker an office and, together, the two companies work to design a product that's inviting to drivers - but not distracting.

"I really like the people and the energy," Baker said.

Portland is already home to a number of startup incubators and early-stage investment programs, notably Wieden+Kennedy's Portland Incubator Experiment and the Portland Seed Fund. JLR's automotive focus is more specialized than either of those, and could potentially add a new dimension to Oregon's tech economy.

Few big technology companies call Oregon home, but many - Salesforce.com, eBay and Microsoft, among them - have key engineering or administrative facilities in the Portland area.

Just last month, digital pen maker Wacom announced plans to move its U.S. headquarters to the Pearl District, and a San Francisco startup called InDinero said it plans to make Portland its new "primary office."

Update: This article has been updated with comment from JLR and Vonsor.

-- Mike Rogoway

mrogoway@oregonian.com

503-294-7699

@rogoway