No matter your opinion on Jaguar’s impending transformation, the prospect of it kicking off its all-electric era with an all-new four-door GT is an exciting one. After all, like Bentley, it might have started with a market-pleasing SUV (which will swiftly follow, in fairness) but instead chose a grand tourer as the opening gambit for what it insists will be ‘uniquely expressive vehicles defined by pioneering technologies and visionary design’.
For now, the precise details of its Reimagine strategy remain under wraps - and aside from confirming that real-world testing has begun, Jaguar says nothing more about the prototype - but clearly the shape and scale of the as-yet-unnamed production car tell its own tale. The firm has been forthright in its desire to copy nothing from its rivals or its back catalogue as it seeks a new upmarket position, so a break from tradition was expected: the bluff nose, low glasshouse, suggestively long bonnet, super-raked A-pillar and dramatically tapered rear end suggest that it has been true to its word.
In profile, the distance from the driver’s head to the front of the test mule is startling for a car that does not have to package a large petrol engine under its bonnet, and is likely indicative of Jaguar’s creative search for the sort of model-specific proportions that would help to define its new GT on sight. The brand’s previous boss, Thierry Bolloré, the original architect of its electrification plan, was adamant that Jaguar should target the sort of unique positioning that Range Rover has previously excelled at - evidently, this is the sort of ‘thought-provoking’ silhouette that it feels best serves that purpose.
We can expect to learn a good deal more about what the production car will look like next month when Jaguar previews its full reveal with the public unveiling of something called the Design Vision Concept at Miami Art Week. Naturally, the chosen location speaks not only to the crucial importance of North America to Jaguar’s future success, but also the type of customer that it hopes to attract (hint: they won’t necessarily be existing XE owners). So there’s a good reason to mark December 2nd in your calendars.
Alternatively, you could hang around outside the factory gates at Gaydon, and see the disguised prototype (one of many) for yourself as the first phase of global testing begins. Jaguar suggests that ‘tens of thousands of miles’ have already been accrued by the GT - but these will have been limited to virtual simulations and proving grounds, or else hidden beneath other bodies. The crucible of British roads now beckons for the newcomer, ahead of its transfer to international test sites as Jaguar targets a product launch in late 2025.
When the time comes, the GT will be the first car built on a dedicated electric platform dubbed JEA (Jaguar Electric Architecture) and produced at its Solihull plant. While the final design is obviously locked down, we do not yet know what form the new EV powertrain will take, and - aside from being significantly more expensive than anything attempted previously - how much exactly the four-door GT will cost. There is much still to learn, and doubtless impatience at Jaguar to tell us. But the first ground-softening baby step has been taken. Over to you for first impressions.
1 / 3
