The electric four-door GT that will spearhead an all-new era for Jaguar will be revealed at the end of the year and go into production in the middle of 2026.

In an exclusive meeting with Autocar at Jaguar’s Gaydon headquarters, Jaguar boss Rawdon Glover said in a wide-ranging interview that the 986bhp GT is “right in the midst” of prototype testing on public roads, at JLR’s Gaydon proving ground and in the Arctic Circle as it gears up for launch.

Glover said the focus so far has been on the new brand and the design for Jaguar but it will soon enter “a very different phase” where the company will talk more about the engineering, architecture and dynamics of the car.

He expects to win over some of the more dissenting voices about the new Jaguar at this point as the brand looks to capture the essence of the best Jaguars from history in the way the new GT drives.

To date, development has been “the complete opposite of how everything used to work”, according to Glover, with total unity between design and engineering to achieve such an extreme and radically different look, instead of designing around a platform or vice versa.

Given the dramatic styling, proportions and sharp angles of the new Jaguars, as previewed by the Type 00 concept, careful consideration has been given to, for instance, crash testing and the aerodynamic performance needed to achieve a targeted 430 miles of range for the four-door GT in its most efficient form.

“We’ve got some incredibly talented engineers who took that challenge on,” said Glover. “Their job is to maintain the design integrity and come up with something that meets all of the current stipulations for a vehicle - homologation, safety, whatever else - and to do so in a way that brings all of the very best of what a Jaguar should be as a driving car.”

On the way the car drives, Glover said the chassis team took the greatest Jaguars of all time, “spent days driving the vehicles” and then looked at “what is it about them that is unique and is absolutely inherently Jaguar, and what can we take from this?”.

The goal is not to create sports cars, but rather cars “you can drive confidently at pace for extended periods and still come out feeling great”.

Glover has driven the range-topping 986bhp version of the new GT at Gaydon at speeds of up to 160mph and it was the “most fun I’ve had” in his two-year tenure as Jaguar boss.

“It was stunning in terms of its speed, its acceleration, its performance, but also how it delivered the power with a real sense of character,” he said. “The chassis team are really excited about the possibilities of the vehicle.”

The new GT will use electric motors and a battery pack common to other JLR models as “economically, there’s no way around that”, said Glover. “But I think the interesting tech and engineering stories are how we’ve actually engineered the vehicle and how we have been able to retain the looks while meeting crash and aero requirements.” As for how the design of the production car will compare with the Type 00 concept, people will “not be left scratching their heads” and “there is strong lineage” between the pair so that “people will not be disappointed”.

The proportions, long bonnet, front face and rearlight graphic of the Type 00 are particular areas that will carry over to production.

Glover said: “We did an analysis of the two side by side and we went through the cars internally and externally. I came out of that meeting thinking there are even more similarities between the two than actually when I came in.”

On the interior, Glover said Jaguar won’t be “bombarding the driver with technology”.

“Most importantly, it’s got to be an amazing place to be in. The technology is there when you need it,” he said. “Jaguar is not going to win by having the best technology. That’s not a strategy.

“It’s a bit like the great watchmakers. Yes, there’s innovation in there but they don’t win by having tech. I think there’s an analogy there in terms of design, craftsmanship and engineering, and how things drive, rather than pure tech. I think we’ll probably leave that for the Chinese [car makers].”

Despite the likes of Aston Martin, Bentley, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Volvo all rowing back on EV plans, Glover said “there is no flexibility” in the Jaguar plan to do anything other than full EVs. All new Jaguars will be built on the EV-bespoke Jaguar Electric Architecture (JEA), with no future compatibility for hybrids.

“We made the decision back in 2021 to have an electric architecture dedicated to us,” said Glover. “There isn’t the opportunity to put a V8 into it or something else. We’re committed to being electric.”

Glover believes “EV will be the right platform for us and the powertrain of choice” in the industry long term. The JEA will take Jaguar deep into the 2030s and “a lot of things will change” by then around reactions to range and charging, said Glover. “Advancements in technology and infrastructure are going to make a big difference.”

EV design will also get more interesting to help boost their appeal, believes Glover. Most of today’s EVs are designed to deliver range by featuring short bonnets, small wheels and cab-forward proportions and “you end up with perhaps not the most exciting or emotionally engaging” cars.

“Probably more than anything, what we need to do is produce a vehicle that people think is a great car that I really want to own from a brand that I like. The powertrain should be a secondary thing,” he said.

The GT will be followed by at least two more models, which are understood to be a large luxury saloon and an SUV. All will have the same design language and “exuberant” proportions and be built at Solihull.

Glover said Jaguar has chosen to launch the GT first “as it is going to position the brand most clearly” in its new upmarket home and it is closest to the Type 00 concept that Jaguar has used to preview the brand.

Glover said: “The GT’s job is to say: Jaguar is here and can command a price point in excess of £100,000, because the product concept and the brand is capable of doing that.

“The other vehicles do different things in terms of accessing a slightly broader audience, slightly greater volume, or whatever else. They have different roles.”

The starting price for the new range of models will be around £100,000 and Glover said the new Jaguars are unlikely to be the only car on a customer’s driveway.

“In that context, it will be a case of ‘what car do I want for the trip I’m making today?’. Our most important job is to make a car that’s desirable, resonates with people and elicits an emotional reaction. Nobody needs a £100,000 car. You’ve got to want one,” he added.

The £100,000 price will not be lowered over time, as it “is not the strategy to go in at a price point and stretch the brand down. If you get a really, really compelling proposition with a uniquely crafted and designed vehicle, our price points are quite attainable.”

Order books for the GT will open when it is unveiled and the car will go on a preview tour to potential customers. This will be a “very, very bespoke experience” and targeted at people who have expressed an interest in the concept car.