The British automaker is set to introduce its first electric vehicle, the I-Pace, next year, and says that all of the models that follow it will be either battery-powered or hybrid. The latter includes mild hybrids, however, which could turn out to be a simple as an advancement of the stop/start technology many of its cars already have.

Regardless of what the makeup of Jaguar’s future fleet is, the shift to more electric power is dramatic for a brand best known in recent years for its raucous supercharged V8 engines.

e type

E-Type ZERO  (Jaguar)

e type zero

E-Type ZERO  (Jaguar)

Jaguar dipped into its past to showcase its new direction by converting a 1968 Jaguar E-Type to electric power. The sleek roadster was also fitted with modern LED lighting, has a range of 170 miles per charge and can sprint to 60 mph in 5.5 seconds, which is quicker than the original could manage with its inline-6 gasoline engine. There are no plans to put it into production, but customer interest could force Jaguar’s hand, and the company has offered continuation versions of some of its classic models in recent years.

Location package with matched HDRI

Future-Type  (Jaguar)

future type

Future-Type  (Jaguar)

More forward thinking is the Future-Type concept that envisions the Jaguar of 2040. The pure electric sports car is autonomous, but can also be driven manually via a smart steering wheel that stores driver’s preferences, is equipped with an Alexa-style assistant and can be brought from car to car since on demand car sharing will have replaced ownership by then, or so the theory goes.

Interestingly, Jaguar’s former Ford-owned relatives Volvo and Aston Martin have also committed to electrified lineups by 2019 and 2025, respectively.