Jaguar had lost the battle with BMW, Audi and Mercedes, it needed to do something bold

Sometimes in this job you have moments that feel special, and a big one came this week when Auto Express was invited into the secret take-your-phone-away bit of Jaguar’s HQ.

It was in the wake of a flurry of publicity around the sudden departure of Gerry McGovern, the head of design credited with responsibility for the new direction that caused controversy when the Type 00 concept car was revealed last year. Whether that had anything to do with Jaguar’s decision to let a select few behind the curtain is something we’ll never know, but it was about time we saw the next step.

A passenger ride in a development car was exciting enough, but the real highlight was an off-the-record peek at the production model in all its glory. We can’t say much, because it’s not being revealed until next summer, but having seen it, we can confirm it’s a showstopper – inside and out. Don’t tell Jaguar, but it’s more of a looker than the concept was, and chatting to fellow journalists at Gaydon last week, there’s a lot of positivity about what we saw.

I’m now fully on board with Jaguar’s attempt to move into this £140,000 luxury car space, but that doesn’t mean I’m certain it will work. It’s a tough thing to try, a lot has got to go right to make a success of it, and only some of it is in Jaguar’s control. Brand boss Rawdon Glover spoke about how it being an electric car is way down the list of reasons why you would or wouldn’t buy it – in his eyes how it looks, how people feel about it, and the interior are more important than what powers it. But that slowdown in EV take-up means there must be concerns about whether order banks are going to fill in the way they need to.

But, and this is a point we made a year ago when the controversial Type 00 concept car was unveiled, Jaguar had to try something. Competing in the mainstream market against big German companies wasn’t working – people simply didn’t want the cars the brand was selling. I wasn’t convinced at first, but having seen the car and been infected by the enthusiasm of those behind it, I’m rooting for success and edging closer to believing it might work.

I’d also like to say thank you for your support this year. From everyone at Auto Express, we wish you a brilliant Christmas, and we’ll be back doing more through 2026.

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