Jaguar’s New Electric GT Is Learning To Slide Before It Can Strut
Testing of Jag’s luxury EV has moved to northern Sweden to finesse the handling and stability control
https://www.carscoops.com/author/chris-chilton-cc/
by Chris Chilton
Jaguar’s four door electric GT packs over 986 hp and three motors.
Engineers tune ride comfort and handling in brutal Arctic testing.
About 400 miles EPA range expected when cars arrive in spring 2027.
Jaguar’s dramatic electric rebirth is not just about pastel concept cars and moody teaser shots. Prototypes of the upcoming four door GT are out on frozen lakes in Sweden, being hurled sideways in temperatures that would make most EVs want to stay plugged in.
The GT, or whatever Jaguar decides to call it when it debuts later this year, is the production follow up to the Type 00 concept, and Jaguar says it will be the most powerful road car it has ever built.
Related: Jaguar Thinks Its $180K EV Gamble Could Finally Ditch Its BMW Complex
With more than 986 hp (1,000 PS) on tap, it has far more power than you could used on a frozen lake, but the Arctic Circle is the perfect place to test out the limit-behaviour of the all-wheel drive chassis.
Jaguar released some high quality images of the four-door sedan testing, but not much in the way of meaningful technical info to advance the story, beyond mentioning that its clever thermal management system can reduce heating energy consumption by up to 40 percent.
We already knew about the total power output and torque vectoring capability, and the confirmation of twin-valve active dampers and air suspension isn’t much of a surprise.
Tri-motor Setup
But a report by Autocar, which got to hang out with the test team in Sweden, fills in some of the blanks, including breaking down the tri-motor setup. Up front is a roughly 350 hp (355 PS / 261 kW) unit, mainly used for efficiency at cruising speeds. At the rear sit two much angrier motors that together deliver around 950 hp (963 PS / 708 kW).
Combined output is at least 986 hp (1,000 PS / 735 kW), along with a walloping 959 lb ft (1,300 Nm) of torque. And that rumored hybrid conversion JLR is working on? Not true and not happening, the company claims.
Instead of one giant skateboard pack, the 5,200 mm (205 inches) Jag uses multiple battery stacks, including a smaller pack near the front and several larger ones further back.
That setup allows the cabin floor and seats to sit lower, giving the car a sports car like driving position, an impressively low centre of gravity, and keeps the roof height to 1,400 mm (55 inches).
Up to 400 Miles Between Fills
Range is expected to be around 400 miles (644 km) on the US EPA cycle, or about 430 miles (692 km) WLTP, from a battery of roughly 120 kWh. That should make it a genuine long legged GT, the kind of thing Jaguar has historically been good at building, even if this car – at a starting price of £120,000 (about $160,000) – will be twice as expensive as many recent Jaguars.
Production Reveal Coming This Summer
In terms of timing, Jag says we will see the finished production car revealed later this summer. Order books are expected to open in the autumn, with first customer deliveries planned for spring next year.
That’s still a long way off and some dealers are already feeling unsure about the whole EV direction, but the GT and the SUV that comes later, could be worth the wait.
Jaguar
