The British sports car maker is busy rebooting its lineup, and the controversial Type 00 Concept from last year is going to be its first production vehicle.
Speaking with Top Gear, Jaguar Managing Director Rawdon Glover admitted that the company’s previous market positioning strategy didn’t pan out. Trying to compete with the German trio of Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Audi, Jaguar incurred losses and never managed to bring anything truly original or innovative to the table.
According to him, the solution is to migrate further upmarket – roughly to the level of the best-equipped Range Rover models, but still a notch below such ultra-luxury badges as Rolls-Royce and Bentley. This is what the company plans to attempt with its all-electric hatchback based on the Type 00. It is expected to go on sale in the UK priced from around £120,000 ($160,000). Before that can happen, though, a Launch Edition will grace the showrooms priced closer to £140,000 ($187,000).
Based on an EV platform developed in-house, the Type 00 will utilize three motors for propulsion. Two will be installed at the rear end and one at the front, delivering a combined 1,014 PS (1,000 hp / 746 kW) or close to that in a 30/70 front-to-rear ratio. It will also utilize a particularly high-end air-ride suspension setup featuring as many as three chambers per shock, delivering the smoothest ride possible. The battery size is being estimated at 120 kilowatt-hours.
In turn, a reporter from Autocar already had an opportunity to test-drive the new Jaguar EV, claiming that it felt better on the road than any other electric car out there. The launch date remains to be announced.
