New Jaguar GT electric saloon sheds more disguise ahead of 2026 reveal
Jaguar’s comeback is getting closer, as validation prototypes of its new GT saloon hit UK roads
Development of Jaguar’s upcoming all-electric four-door GT has entered a new phase with a reduced level of camouflage, ahead of the car’s reveal next year.
Until now prototypes photographed in the UK, Spain and at the Nurburgring have worn an extensive disguise kit, distorting the shape and detailing with misleading shapes and false panels under a patterned wrap.
In recent weeks a new generation of prototypes has been seen testing, given away by 2025 registration numbers and a level of disguise that shows more of the car’s true style. Internal ID stickers on these latest cars include the letters VB for ‘verification build’ – JLR-speak for later phase prototypes built with production-spec parts.
We encountered one of these new development cars on the road in Warwickshire, and it had real presence – the finished car is believed to be over five metres long – but didn’t seem so wide as to be unmanageable on a British B-road. Without many of the false panels of earlier prototypes, the low, swooping shape of the car is apparent, along with the subtle sculpting of the wheel arches and body sides which seem more shapely than those of the brutalist concept car.
At the rear, the window-less hatchback is now clearly visible but there appear to be fake panels on the tail, hiding a retractable spoiler and a taper similar to that of the Type 00 concept.
The four-door Type 00 (as it is for now known) saloon will form the basis for Jaguar’s reinvention as an all-electric brand, with a coupe-style SUV set to follow and, potentially, a two-door coupe if everything goes to plan. Not that this is a given considering the catastrophic fall in sales of premium electric vehicles.
Built on a totally new 800-volt electric architecture called JEA, this new GT among a family of electric Jaguars. A claimed range of around 500 miles will be fed by a sizable battery – circa 100 to 150kwh with today’s technology. The upshot of this is the Jaguar’s four-figure power output of around 1000bhp. Then again, don’t expect it to weigh much less than 2500kg.
Predictably, it’s also set to be crammed with a considerable amount of the latest tech, like virtual gearshifts. The latest software will also provide the broadest offering of driver modes, along with convenience features that you never thought you would need in a car and most likely will never use.
You might be aware also that JLR is launching its first all-electric Range Rover. Your perfectly reasonable expectation that the RR will feed the new Jaguar is contrary to our understanding that the cars will utilise distinct battery and motor hardware and control software. The Jaguar will be far more advanced than the Range Rover and lead JLR’s electrification product offensive.
The car is aimed at Bentley and Rolls Royce customers, although with starting prices planned to be ‘under £100,000’ it will significantly undercut any rival from Crewe or Goodwood. Scheduled to be revealed in production form in 2026, Jaguar’s first all-new electric car will go into production in 2027 and be the first car the firm has produced since Castle Bromwich went dark in mid-2024.
