Jaguar has been quiet recently, but there has been a good reason for that. Jaguar are completely reinventing themselves as a pure electric luxury brand from 2025 onwards beginning with a pure-electric, four-door GT. In just over a year, Jaguar are planning to release three models with prices starting from £100,000 (~$185,000 AUD) and positioning that takes aim at Bentley.
“This is unfinished business,” said JLR boss Adrian Mardell. “Jaguar is going to be reborn.”
The upcoming GT is the only new car that we have any details on but even then, those are scant. Though CFO Lennard Hoornik told Top Gear that, “This will be the most powerful Jaguar ever.”
The new direction of Jaguar is taking inspiration from founder Sir William Lyons’ philosophy that Jaguars should be “a copy of nothing.” A sentiment echoed by JLR’s creative director and design leader, Professor Gerry McGovern, when he said the new Jaguars will be “exuberant, fearless, and jaw-dropping.”
All Jaguars will be built on the architecture dubbed the Jaguar Electrified Architecture (JEA) predicted to provide a range of 430 miles (692 km) and 15 minutes of charging should restore 200 miles (322 km). This almost doubles the range of Jaguar’s existing offering, the i-Pace, with a 246 mile (396 km) range.
This rebranding is a huge gamble for Jaguar and they are going all in. Everything is being dropped: their current range, combustion-engined propulsion, even their current customer base. With a huge price increase from the 2019 average of £44,000, it wouldn’t be surprising if this alienates or prices out their current customers.
18 Models in Months
Dubbed “Project Renaissance,” McGovern divided his design team into three with each coming up with ideas for future Jaguar models with the brief stating that people have to have a “jaw dropping moment upon seeing a new Jaguar for the first time.”
As McGovern explained, the three design teams “created 18 full-size models in a relatively short time. It was amazing!” Despite this, the team are still finessing the designs so there has been no mention as to what form these models will take.
The only hint of bodytypes was suggested by engineering director, Nick Collins, “The Jaguar Electric Architecture is developed specifically to deliver modernist, exuberant, reimagined Jaguars. Expect exuberant proportions with refinement and proportion in keeping with our new brand positioning.”
