There’s no such thing as bad press, or so Jaguar thought when it unleashed one of the clumsiest, most chaotic rebrands in advertising history.
While most of the anger, frustration, confusion and laughter were directed at the JaGUar logo, wild fashion on display, bizarre moonscape landscapes and retina-searing kaleidoscope of colours – Elon Musk was among those who labelled it a ‘woke disaster’- many simply ignored the radical all-electric Type 00 believing it to be merely a fantasy.
Little more than a year on, a toned-down version of the British brand’s wild four-door Jaguar GT has almost become reality.
Even when heavily camouflaged the British four-door fastback Jaguar GT that should touch down in Australia the first half of next year looks like nothing else.
Measuring around 5200mm long, standing just 1400mm tall with a dramatic 3200mm wheelbase, the GT is long, wide and striking, with no front overhang at all to speak of.
Modern but traditional, the Jaguar monolithic slab surfacing required an all-new architecture to underpin it, with a large SUV likely to follow later on.
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Jaguar vows it is committed to its all-electric future and that any plug-in hybrid or range extender would be a compromise too far.
Interestingly, while execs were aiming to evolve the Jag brand into a four-wheel Fendi or Prada, engineers and designers were doing the opposite, drawing from the car-makers past to inspire its future.
Amassing a collection of Jaguar’s glorious back catalogue, the fledgling EV division spent a day driving XK120s, E-types, XJ-S coupes but one car stood out – an old 47-year-old XJ-C coupe that blew everyone away with its beautifully judged ride, well-resolved handling, and effortless V12 pace. It instantly became the inspiration for the new car.
Beneath the skin, there were no shortcuts. Under the mostly-aluminium skin is an utterly conventional car, with double wishbone front and a multi-link rear suspension set-up, that’s combined with dual-chamber springs.
Other than rear-wheel steering and a set of adaptive dampers, any tech like active roll cancellation, were largely ignored, with the emphasis on efficiency. That and a perfect 50:50 weight distribution.
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To ensure you ‘sit in it’ rather than ‘on it’, engineers also split the battery pack, shuffling one half of it towards its nose while the other towards the rear of the car to allow the driver and passenger seat to be mounted low, while providing extra room for feet in the second row.
We didn’t get the chance to explore the top-secret prototype’s cabin but the rear seats should offer decent leg and headroom, while the rear boot will be massive. Under the bonnet lives most of the power electronics, but there’s expected to be a small frunk for cables.
Behind a traditional round three-spoke steering wheel the GT provides the impression of being in more of a coupe than luxury limo.
Sitting low and further back than in the car is said to provide a feeling of the car pivoting around your hips.
Claimed to feature ‘100 per cent of the production car’s hardware’ but only 70 per cent of its software, there’s no opportunity to play with any of the in-car tech.
Instead, in little more than a few yards we experience the GT’s small car turning circle, thanks to its rear-wheel steering – not that you can detect it.
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Like Porsche, Jaguar has nailed a steering system that feels intuitive and natural, despite now adopting a variable ratio rack. The faster we drive, the more the steering’s accuracy and precision impresses.
Brake at any speed and it’s impossible to detect when the Jag is using its discs and pads, or if the motors are clawing back energy to top up the battery.
Speaking of motors, the GT has three – a single 260kW motor that drives the front axle and a pair of e-motors that pump out 708kW and deliver a rear-wheel drive bias and provide for torque vectoring.
Combined the GT is said to muster around 768kW and a herculean 1300Nm of torque which should prove for vicious acceleration off the line but the big Jag is far too grown up for that.
Instead, the launch is smooth, refined and quiet, over some bumpy roads it’s the ride quality that steals the show, the insulation and comfort feeling a cut above other large EVs, even on its towering 23-inch rims.
Without any trick chassis tech there is some roll, but it remained controlled in one of the three driving modes we sampled.
We didn’t get the opportunity to truly test the rear-biased nature but discovered the faster we went the more the big Brit impressed.
Equipping the Jaguar with a large 120kWh battery, the Brit brand expects its four-door limo to cover up to 700km on a charge, while its 800-volt electrics could deliver a sub-20-minute 10-80 per cent top up.
While Jaguar ran the risk of having its very own Cybertruck moment, the GT’s divisive looks rub shoulders with a ride, and handling balance that the brand became famous for.
Perhaps Jaguar future’s is bright after all.
