For a car maker that stopped making cars 12 months ago, Jaguar's 2025 has been rife with unwavering controversy.

A passionate response to its decision to ditch the combustion engine, public outcry over the company's rebrand and release of a divisive ad - which featured distinctive models and punchy slogans but no cars - and debut of the dubious satin pink Type 00 concept saw in a New Year with the company making unwanted headlines, typically fronted by the word 'woke'.

But if the car manufacturer thought its 'sunset period' of paused assembly lines in preparation to relaunch as a luxury EV-only brand in 2026 would see it fall away from the news agenda, it was very much mistaken.

This year has seen Jaguar Land Rover face punishing US tariffs and endure a crippling cyber attack that downed its global operations for over five weeks, all while its pioneering CEO had announced his retirement with a new boss - parachuted in from parent company Tata Motors - taking over the reins at the end of November.

And if that wasn't enough upheaval for the calendar year, design guru Gerry McGovern - the man responsible for shaping JLR vehicles over the last 20 years - was reportedly removed from his roles earlier this month. The company has told us that reports it has 'terminated his employment' are 'untrue', but refuses to comment any further on the matter. Read into the wording specifics of that statement what you will.

Yet despite all this turbulence, there remains a resolute confidence at the Gaydon engineering headquarters in Warwickshire that Jaguar is primed to return to its formidable best with next year's arrival of a four-door GT model, which is set to cost between £120,000 and £140,000.

I am among the first journalists to not just see it in the flesh months before its unveiling, but also experience a passenger ride in a near-production prototype with its chief engineer at the wheel.

And having spoken to Jaguar boss Rawdon Glover, it's clear that the car maker is steadfast in its intention to stand by its strategy, no matter the headlines it makes...

What does it look like in the metal? 

While I can confirm that the near-production car I was given a sneak preview of retains much of the design purity of Type 00 with a few elements of design flair in its body curvature, I'm sworn to silence to say any more about it until its public reveal around the middle of next year.

But what I can do is tell you a little about how it's going to perform.

Ushered into an enclosed parking area by JLR employees, who a matter of seconds earlier had confiscated my smartphone to prevent any potential leaks breaching the Gaydon engineering centre's four walls, I am face to grille with 2026's most hotly anticipated new car.

The yet-named Jaguar - which we're bound to call the four-door GT for the meantime - strikes an imposing presence as it stands silently cloaked in its zebra-like camouflage to conceal the body's indents and edges.

It's not due to be unveiled fully until around the middle of next year - and UK deliveries aren't coming until 2027. So, consider this a very early preview indeed.

Proportionally, it can't be far off the dimensions of the striking Type 00 concept. And that's an enormously long vehicle spanning around five metres. My first reaction: how on earth would I fit that into a car park space?

Is it beautiful? Absolutely not. Does it make a statement? Categorically yes. 

New EV is inspired by iconic Jags 

This is one of 150 prototypes built, many of which are undergoing final dynamic assessment and tweaks before receiving the crucial 'pens down' sign off.

How far away is that moment? 'In terms of chassis and handling, we're about 80 per cent of the way there,' explains Matt Becker, Jaguar's vehicle engineer director, while pointing me towards the passenger seat.

Stepping over a significant door sill, I'm met with a surprisingly low seating position as I plonk my backside into the chair. With any EV with a chassis floor lined with a spread of battery cells, you often feel like your perched on top when riding in electric cars. 

But not here.

You feel hunkered right into the belly of the beast, which is the first indicator that this is a vehicle that's going to offer plenty of sportiness. 

A quick scan of the cockpit and I'm separated from Matt by a spine running through the cabin and a - modest - curved screen that starts from behind steering wheel and expands into the centre of the dash. 

A glance over my shoulder and there appears to be plenty of room in the back, though a dramatically sloped roofline makes it feel incredibly cocooned - as does the lack of a rear window. It does seem that Jaguar is sticking with the Type 00's glassless rear deck, using a rear-mounted camera and digital display to project a view of what's going on behind - a system debuted by the Polestar 4.

However, with everything draped in black cloth and the cockpit tech currently made up of typically prototype-level rudimentary gadgets, my measure of cabin luxury is purposely being restrained.

Having made his name at Lotus and spent eight years a stone's throw away at Aston Martin's Gaydon HQ, Becker was poached by JLR in 2022 and has been handed the task of injecting Jaguar character into a new breed of battery vehicles.

And that's a monumental labour of work, given EVs are by nature relatively soulless against Jaguar's repertoire of burbling motor vehicles dating back to 1935.

But anyone who thinks the company's switch to EVs is a backhand to 90 years of heritage will be keen to learn of Becker's adamance to extensively drive the company's back catalogue of iconic cars to truly understand the DNA before setting to work on the new EV.

Having experienced everything from sixties E-Types to modern-era XKs, he reveals the measuring stick for the electrified 'new Jaguar' is the 1970s two-door XJC V12.

Its 'comfort, lightness and deftness' is something Matt wants to reproduce, but given the battery-laden four-door GT must tip the scale at over 2.5 tonnes, that's an almighty assignment.

Having only been on sale for three years between 1975 and 1978 - and delivering a handful over 10,000 examples in that time - the XJC is hardly the sales success story of Jaguar's historical index. But it appears delivery volumes aren't high on the requirement for this particular car.

'Jaguar has always been about driving pleasure. Experiencing a connection to the driving experience but not at the expense of comfort or composure. This is what will underpin all future Jaguar models,' he says.

The GT particularly must deliver 'deep reserves of power and instinctive responses' but also be 'agile and rewarding to drive', all the while delivering comfort customers are expecting from a luxurious grand tourer. But most of all, Matt says it must be 'a true Jaguar'.

What does the new electric Jag feel like from the passenger seat?

Chief among his objectives is to make the four-door GT feel 'cosseted and isolated'. And it is most definitely that.

How do I know? Well, because Matt's voice has barely risen a single decibel since leaving the parking area - and we're now hurtling along the Gaydon test track at over 130mph, chatting away freely with barely any road or wind noise intruding into the unfinished prototype cabin.

With approximately 1,000 horsepower, the new electric Jaguar is going to be incredibly potent but also highly sophisticated.

While we're still yet to get confirmation of the battery capacity (though we do know it is aiming for a range of around 400 miles on a full charge), the car features a tri-motor setup, with two e-motors at the back and another up front with torque vectoring to actively distribute power where it's needed most.

In its standard setting, around 70 per cent of the torque is sent to the rear to achieve the desired Jaguar-esque driving sensation. But with the availability of different driving modes, more can be pushed to the back if required, Matt explains.

The tri-motor arrangement too allows for a 'virtual' e-diff [a computer-controlled system that manages the power delivered to the wheels to maximise traction, stability, and cornering capabilities while also factoring in wheelspin and selectively braking or locking wheels], which is still being honed like an ultimate Goldilocks porridge recipe.

Despite its overwhelming scale, the Jaguar doesn't look like it's a handful for Matt to navigate through tight turns and sharp corners.

This is largely thanks to the adoption of rear-wheel-steering of up to a maximum of six degrees - another feature that should help disguise the colossal proportions from the driver's perspective, as it does the company's hulking Range Rovers.

But while it's difficult as a passenger to grasp its handling capabilities - even as Becker tears around a wet corner with the instrument cluster close to three figures - it is far easier to appreciate the composure and incredible comfort of the big Jag, even on its enormous 23-inch wheels.

Matt says he set himself a remit of 'no compromise' on ride control while making the car as engaging as possible.

His biggest challenge, though, was the position of the cabin, which is set further back in the chassis than more conventional EVs due to the non-negotiable of having that characteristically huge Jaguar bonnet.

While this makes it more vulnerable to the sensation of the body lurching back on its haunches under acceleration like an enraged bull being taunted in the ring, it feels incredibly poised, even when Matt buries the throttle.

He says this has been achieved by winding back the instant delivery of the torque from the e-motors.

Unlike a conventional combustion engine car which makes peak pulling power in the middle of its rev range, an EV can deliver the entire lot at the initial dab of the throttle.

But the 1,000-or-so horses have been tamed somewhat - along with the influence of all-wheel air suspension and adaptive dampers - to ensure there's minimal body movement.

It too has a natural rigidity of being underpinned by a slab of battery packs, and even with no enormous 12-cylinder petrol engine under the bonnet, it has a 50:50 weight distribution, which is the perfect starting point for any vehicle dynamics boffin to fettle with.

While the ride is comfortable, it still feels completely connected to the road beneath.

It doesn't glide and float over potholes and ripples in the tarmac like a Rolls-Royce; instead, it communicates imperfections in the surface under the low-profile tyres, though without pounding your body with jolts and shudders.

It certainly evokes the sporty ride quality you'd expect from a Jag - though with 23-inch wheels, I imagine it's difficult to iron everything out entirely.  

In conclusion, it feels like it's going to toe the line between the responsive drive of a large executive BMW and the comfort of a super-plush electric SUV. But without having my hands on the wheel, it's difficult to say exactly how much driving satisfaction has been pumped into the experience.

Also playing a role in this will be the sound the Jaguar produces, which at the moment is none. 

Matt says this is still a 'work in progress' but that every new electric Jag will have its own tweaked soundtrack that's 'calming' rather than artificially reproducing the sound of 12 thrumming cylinders - and it won't sound like a spaceship, he assured me.

The company promises it will be 'the most refined, intuitive and engaging Jaguar ever'.

From my brief first-hand experience, it certainly has the potential to be a class leader for refinement. 

Whether it truly delivers, though, only time will tell.

Jaguar boss: 'We remain 100% committed to a pure-electric future'

Despite some reports that new JLR CEO PB Balaji has arrived from parent group Tata with a brief to steady the ship and wind back Jaguar's ambitious and somewhat divisive strategy, managing director Rawdon Glover tells us that's simply not the case.

In an interview with Daily Mail and This is Money, he said: 'PB Balaji was CFO at Tata Motors and he's on our PLC board, so he's seen every iteration of this car.

'In fact, he was at the very inception when we were devising the strategy of how we break the mould and how adventurous we should be. So, he's been invested since day one.

'I've seen him four or five times since he's been here [as CEO] and every time he's impressed upon me how important it is for him and the company that Jaguar succeeds.'

At the time of our interview, news had already broken that the EU was planning to scrap its 2035 ban on the sales of new petrol and diesel cars - reports that were confirmed on Tuesday.

Asked whether Jaguar could perform a U-turn on its all-electric ambitions in response, Glover said: 'We remain 100 per cent committed to a pure-electric future and have entered the final stage in the development of our new all-electric Jaguar GT.'

He went on to explain how the company - despite its monumental rebrand and ditching of iconic Jag logos - will not be turning its back on heritage and will continue to 'embrace its history' as part of a 'balancing act moving forward'. And he said being British is an important part of that.

'The car is made in Solihull, and it's designed and engineered in Gaydon. There's a sense of real pride in that,' he explained.

'Jaguar has a really important place in the Midlands, especially in terms of history. And it's important from an economic perspective too. That's absolutely retained.

'There's something very British about being bold and being prepared to break the mould, whether that's music, fashion, architecture or design. That's the British spirit we're after.'

Who's going to buy the new electric GT? 

When asked about the target audience for the car, Glover said at the £120k to £140k price point it will need to 'feel like an elevated experience' and 'an occasion' each time a driver gets into it.

While he concedes that the electric GT will appeal to a far smaller customer base than before, he thinks clients will be 'slightly younger' than existing Jag drivers.

'This is a car that's in the range to re-establish Jaguar at this price point,' he said.

'Customers are going to be younger. They're likely to be more urban. And with the car being more than twice the price, there's a certain level of net income that the target client will be at.'

He says the company has looked into the 'attitude' and 'mindset' of this type of client and believes the car will meet their high expectations.

'They will want to make a statement, want to stand out from the crowd in a good way, and want something that looks like nothing else on the road,' he says.

Making this point, the Jag boss pointed to some of the great cars of its past - namely the E-Type, XJS and XJ220 - which all broke generational conventions, especially with their styling.

Glover too believes these will be the people who are going to be most open to battery vehicles but says they won't buy it just because it's electric.

'Nobody is going to buy this car because it's an EV; people will buy it because they think it looks incredible, because they love the way it feels inside, and because when they're travelling in it, it's an incredible experience.

'Some of those things are enabled by EVs.'

He added: 'If you're an out-and-out EV denier, then we're not the brand for you. But we think there's a significant group of people out there that have the net worth, the interest in design and technology, and are interested in something that looks and feels like nothing else.

'Those are the most important attitudinal themes that we think are going to bind together this future audience for Jaguar.'

How Jaguar intends to shrug off 'woke' accusations... 

'Woke' has become a word synonymous with Jaguar following the release of its statement-making ad released last year to tease the arrival of its marquee Type 00 Concept. 

So, we asked how the brand will approach accusations of being woke - a word Glover says he 'hates' because it gets loaded with all sorts of assertions.

'The tease film was exactly that,' he says. 'It was a tease for the Miami event and the Type 00 unveiling that was put on our social channels. We've not revisited it since. 

'If you look at what we've done over the last 12 months, since the unveil of Type 00 onwards, I don't think we've done anything that people could accuse of being really woke.

'The most important thing for Jaguar is that we're going to be a small brand in the grand scheme of the wider automotive industry, so we're going to have to punch above our weight.

'We have to create our own noise but moving forward we want to do that in a way that exudes luxury and that talks about craftsmanship.

'We do still want to challenge some of the automotive norms, but we absolutely do not want to actively court controversy - and that was never the intention, even with last year's teaser video.

'The only way we will demonstrate to people that Jaguar isn't on some sort of social crusade is by what we do next,' he defiantly concluded.