Jaguar’s high-powered electric four-door will debut at the end of this year, with production kicking off in the middle of 2026, reports Autocar. Jaguar Managing Director Rawdon Glover told the outlet as much and confirmed in an interview that the electric GT is currently in the testing phase. Thus far, the automaker’s focus has been on its branding, but soon, says Glover, Jaguar’s focus will shift to talk of the upcoming car’s engineering and dynamics.
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“We’ve got some incredibly talented engineers who took that challenge on. Their job is to maintain the design integrity and come up with something that meets all of the current stipulations for a vehicle – homologation, safety, whatever else – and to do so in a way that brings all of the very best of what a Jaguar should be as a driving car.”
— Rawdon Glover, Jaguar
Jaguar has put a lot of effort into building and designing the car in unison, which the Jag exec. says was necessary to achieve such a radical design while simultaneously hitting the performance the brand wanted from its first “new” car. The experience will undoubtedly be new in many ways, but Glover says the team also took great pains to ensure the EV drives like a Jaguar. Project engineers spent “days” driving a smorgasbord of the greatest Jaguar models ever built. Glover said the team asked, “What is it about them that is unique and is absolutely inherently Jaguar, and what can we take from this?”
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“It was stunning in terms of its speed, its acceleration, its performance, but also how it delivered the power with a real sense of character.”
— Rawdon Glover, Jaguar, on the brand’s new EV
The new EV’s hardware is still taken from within the Jaguar Land Rover brand umbrella. Economically, there just isn’t another way, says Glover. The Jaguar GT model will use motors and a battery pack from the conglomerate’s parts bin, but the application of them will be what differentiates the model, says the CEO. “I think the interesting tech and engineering stories are how we’ve actually engineered the vehicle and how we have been able to retain the looks while meeting crash and aero requirements.” This means that the upcoming model will look similar to the concept the automaker previewed, including areas like the nose, lighting graphics, and proportions.
As for the interior, Jag isn’t looking to overwhelm with tech: “It’s a bit like the great watchmakers. Yes, there’s innovation in there, but they don’t win by having tech. I think there’s an analogy there in terms of design, craftsmanship and engineering, and how things drive, rather than pure tech.” However, the automaker did reaffirm that electrification is the only path forward. It has no plans for gasoline-powered versions.
TopSpeed’s Take
After the brand’s GT launches, Glover says there’s going to be two more models — likely another luxury sedan and an SUV. These are going to be marketed at a more affordable price point to a wider audience, and frankly, they’ll be the difference-maker for the marque. Getting the volume models right will be key, and while 986 horsepower from a luxury EV that doesn’t lean on tech to appeal is an interesting idea, Jaguar has to sell cars to stay in business.
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