The shock of Jaguar’s vibrant and intentionally provocative relaunch in December 2024 continues to be recent within the minds of many automotive lovers. But Jaguar stays firmly dedicated to its timetable, positioning and product technique. We joined the event workforce and located that this luxurious GT represents way over a daring restart.
Jaguar loyalists who’ve remained affected person because the model’s main reveal at Artwork Basel in Miami a 12 months in the past will want slightly extra restraint. The official rebirth of the marque and its first new mannequin are nonetheless a way off. Earlier than late summer time subsequent 12 months, the primary new automotive, a Gran Turismo measuring greater than 5.20 metres in size, will stay beneath wraps. Preliminary prospects are unlikely to take their seats till spring 2027, in a luxurious saloon that goals to overturn every thing Jaguar has carried out earlier than. Regardless of ongoing protests and a number of other producers rowing again from all-electric methods, Jaguar’s future flagship will probably be each monumental and absolutely electrical. Mission supervisor Rawdon Glover is obvious: “We’re absolutely dedicated to a purely electrical future and at the moment are within the last growth part of our new electrical Jaguar GT. Having pushed it myself, I can guarantee you the wait will probably be price it.”
A go to to Gaydon and Jaguar Land Rover’s tightly secured growth centre confirms that impression. Even beneath heavy black-and-white camouflage, the four-door GT seems imposing and highly effective. The entrance, with its slim LED mild signatures, seems extra intimidating than the gloomy British sky, whereas the rear options dramatically sculpted wheel arches. Inside them sit monumental 23-inch wheels mounted on well-used prototype rims. Crucially, these wheels are supposed to be normal gear, not elective extras, as Glover emphasises. Technical highlights embody rear-wheel steering and air suspension, whereas propulsion comes from three electrical motors, one on the entrance and two on the rear. Whole output is round 735 kW, equal to roughly 1,000 PS, with torque comfortably exceeding 1,000 Nm. A battery of round 120 kWh is anticipated to ship a variety of as much as 700 kilometres.
What this drivetrain is able to turns into clear from the passenger seat of one in every of round 150 prototypes presently present process international testing. The seating place is unusually low and the cabin remarkably quiet as check engineer Navid Shamshiri accelerates onto the high-speed circuit. After a number of mild familiarisation laps, the electrical GT surges past 200 km/h in seconds. The automotive feels planted and supremely secure, with its lengthy wheelbase and broad monitor completely suited to a automobile that will probably be inbuilt Solihull. “To develop a automotive that drives in addition to it seems, we carried out essentially the most complete growth programme in Jaguar’s historical past,” explains Shamshiri, earlier than unleashing the automotive once more and gliding via a roundabout with virtually informal ease.
Inside, beneath the darkish camouflage panels, the ambiance is restrained but luxurious. Leather-based is all over the place, carpets are deep, and 4 particular person seats present beneficiant consolation. The devices, nonetheless, are smaller than anticipated, and the central touchscreen wouldn’t look misplaced on a big smartphone. On this prototype, there is no such thing as a signal of a passenger show or head-up show. Whether or not that will probably be enough stays to be seen, particularly as Jaguar’s repositioning extends to pricing. Entry-level figures are anticipated to start out properly north of €150,000, putting the electrical GT in rarefied territory the place every thing have to be proper.
The window surfaces are comparatively small, whereas the physique panels are expansive, giving the prototype an virtually concept-car presence. Even on the dealing with circuit, and regardless of poor climate, the long run Jaguar impresses with its balanced chassis setup. It feels agency however by no means harsh, with air suspension entrance and rear. “There has by no means been a Jaguar like this,” says Rawdon Glover. “In 2026, Jaguar returns and opens a daring new chapter. This GT is the primary of a brand new technology of luxurious electrical autos, essentially the most technologically superior Jaguar ever constructed and a automotive not like anything in look or driving expertise.” Now, Jaguar should be certain that its advertising and marketing and model repositioning can match the ambition of the automotive itself.
