New Jaguar GT spotted testing again looking long, low and suitably mean

While a hopefully close-to-production concept model of Jaguar’s long-awaited new four-door GT is due to be unveiled towards the end of this year, more prototypes of the actual road car have been spotted testing. This time they’ve been spied in Germany, just outside the gruelling Nürburgring race track. 

The all-electric, still as-yet-unnamed Jaguar GT has been hailed by the brand as one of the most ambitious models in its long history, but will also be one of its most expensive, with prices expected to start from around £130,000.

Despite that, and the controversy over the company’s new direction, Jaguar says so far more than 32,000 people have expressed interest in the four-door GT before they’ve even laid eyes on the finished car. However these images captured by our spy photographers provide more clues as to exactly what we can expect.

The proportions of the car are just as wild as they were on the Jaguar Type 00 concept shown late last year. The sheer width is immediately apparent, and of course there’s the almost preposterously long bonnet, which is unnecessary for an EV but traditional for the British brand. It sits low to the ground, too, and combined with the sweeping roofline, creates the kind of sleek silhouette we’d expect of a Jaguar.

The most interesting angle is, perhaps, the rear, because unlike the Type 00 concept, there’s a defined bootlid rather than a pure fastback. It’s still unclear from these pictures whether the road car will have a proper rear window, or will use a camera to feed a digital rear-view mirror similar to the set-up in the Polestar 4.

Another element we expect to be carried across from the Type 00 is the use of two horizontal lightbars at the rear, which are just about visible through the camouflage. Yet more boxing is used on the lower bumper – at both ends in fact – under which is likely to be a variety of aero-tricks to help keep the car’s drag coefficient low.

Jaguar Electric Architecture platform and other EVs to come

The four-door GT will be the first car on the new Jaguar Electric Architecture platform; this will underpin the initial trio of models planned as part of the brand’s move upwards to a high-end positioning focused on “modern luxury”. The other two models are likely to be a large SUV and a luxury saloon.

Jaguar is pledging a 430-mile range for the GT and ultra-fast charging, with the company’s managing director Rawdon Glover describing the car’s technology as “game-changing”. He’s also said: “We will move from range anxiety to charging anxiety, but this car will be able to add 200 miles of charge in 15 minutes.”

According to Jaguar, the need to completely shift the brand into a much more expensive arena is an obvious one. “The past decade has seen Jaguar pursue a mass-volume strategy, and the cars have not been distinctive enough,” said JLR CEO Adrian Mardell. 

“This is the time to do something special; exuberance is something Jaguar has always been seen to have. The same excitement as the E-Type – this is a clean-sheet approach to a reimagined brand with no limitation on fresh ideas.

“I’ve never been more confident in Jaguar in the past 25 years, in what Jaguar needs to be, the client base it needs to seek and what it needs in order to be successful,” he continued. “EV is only part of the shift. We will be luxurious, sell in lower volumes at a higher price point, and our research shows that there is a market for it.”

That point was backed up by Jaguar boss Glover, who said the brand’s new direction is “progressive, bold and fearless in the way we have been in our 90-year history, most of which has been spent producing the world’s most desirable sports cars and saloons”. 

He continued: “The price point will rise, and to do that we’ve got to elevate all aspects of the brand.”

Jaguar’s new direction

Although the prototype car in these shots is heavily disguised, it’s clear that Jaguar is pursuing a different route to other brands with its styling. “We live in a world of small wheels, cars sitting high to package the battery, and that look like they were designed in a wind tunnel to maximise the range,” said Glover.

“We will do the opposite – vehicles that can create an emotional and visceral reaction with the driver. It needs to be a great driver’s car, but one you can drive mile after mile without it being draining, and it must be engaging. The chassis people say they have huge scope to make an engaging drive, but it’s got to drive like a Jaguar.”

The British brand’s boss rejected any hint of nervousness about the new direction. “I’m not saying it will be easy – there will be a lot of conquest and we will definitely sell to multi-car Range Rover households,” he replied. “What is the alternative? Look at what is happening elsewhere – would I want to go into the mid-market or low-end and slug it out?” 

He said JLR is enjoying success when it comes to making beautiful, desirable vehicles with great design, pushing into higher price points. “We’ve done it with Range Rover, and most recently with Defender.” According to Glover, the new Defender has doubled in price but tripled in volume compared with the previous long-standing model. “What we did with Defender was that the product transformation came first, and the brand after. With Jaguar, we are doing it simultaneously.” 

He also rejected concerns about moving to an electric vehicle-only plan, commenting that “very few” buyers of six-figure Jaguars will be single-car households; if 430 miles isn't enough range for them, then they will likely also have access to another car. 

He also rejected fears about being an electric-only brand, confirming that there are no plans to introduce hybrid or internal-combustion powertrains to Jaguar vehicles.  

“Visceral and emotional is why people buy cars at this price point, powertrain is way down. It’s about the brand, exterior design, interior design, and how the vehicle handles; people aren’t choosing because of the powertrain,” he said. “This car will be ready in late 2026, so the platform will be used for seven or eight years. To liken it to ice hockey, players skate to where the puck is going, not where it is now.”

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