Jaguar to unveil its new £130,000 EV which will 'scare you on the motorway' after controversial rebrand

Jaguar is set to unveil its new £130,000 electric car that the British motoring giant has said will 'scare drivers when it comes up behind them on the way'. 

The Type 01, first announced in May, will boast 23-inch wheels, 1,000 horsepower and 360 new patents. 

In what managing director Rawdon Glover has said will be 'one of the most significant moments in Jaguar's 90-plus year history', the new model will be unveiled in New York on Tuesday. 

And the motoring boss also took a swipe at Jaguar's critics – including the likes of Nigel Farage, Donald Trump and Elon Musk – after the company's controversial rebrand. 

In 2024, Jaguar was accused of attempting to appeal to the 'woke' brigade after a bizarre advert. 

The company ditched the iconic 'growler' logo of a big cat and replaced the imposing, all-caps typeface with one that appears to read 'JaGuar'.

Under the slogan 'copy nothing' – an adage from company founder Sir William Lyons – the advert featured diverse models in technicolour outfits walking through an alien landscape.

In July last year Jaguar's sales were reported to have crashed by a staggering 97.5 per cent despite the car giant insisting the rebrand had 'nothing to do' with the loss. 

Jaguar's £130,000 Type 01 will boast 23-inch wheels, 1,000 horsepower and 360 new patents

The new rebrand (above) attracted accusations the company has gone 'woke' - after putting out an advert featuring cars prominently 

Jaguar's managing director Rawdon Glover said he hopes critics of the Type 00 prototype will change their minds after Tuesday's unveiling

But ahead of next week's launch, Mr Glover told The Sunday Times: 'We've done many things over the last two years. One thing has clearly got more headlines than the other. But if you take a look at our Instagram, you'll see how the tone of our marketing has evolved over time and it will continue to do so.'

When asked about whether drivers would be scared if they saw the Type 01 on the road, he said: 'Your point of how it should feel when a Jaguar comes up behind you on the motorway; you could be talking to one of our designers. The car itself has to be distinctive, it has a look that is unquestionably a Jaguar.'

Donald Trump previously described the rebrand as a 'total disaster', saying Jaguar was in 'absolute turmoil'. 

Meanwhile Nigel Farage said the company 'will go bust' and Elon Musk questioned whether it sold cars any more as the 2024 advert did not feature any vehicles prominently. 

As the Daily Mail reported at the time, almost two years ago, even Gen Z hated the 'cheap' and 'cringe' relaunch.  

But Mr Glover said he hopes critics of the Type 00 prototype will change their minds after Tuesday's unveiling. 

Responding to some of the backlash, he said 'whether it's the president of the US or our client base' criticising the manufacturer, 'we understand Jaguar better than anybody else'. 

He added that 'we care passionately that Jaguar is around for another 90 years' but to ensure this the company needed to 'develop a car that we think is worthy of that'. 

Jaguar's sales  plummeted after the legendary British car marque's 'woke' rebrand left fans outraged (pictured is the Type 00 concept motor)

Mr Glover, Jaguar's managing director, said the Type 01 is the first production model to embody the company's new creative philosophy and will be 'unmistakable from every angle' 

Daily Mail and This is Money motoring editor Rob Hull has already driven a Type 01 prototype and was incredibly impressed with its relaxed but potent performance 

In August, the motoring giant unveiled the interior of the Type 01 Grand Tourer, giving the public a first look inside the electric flagship that will spearhead the British marque's controversial reinvention as an ultra-premium EV brand to rival Aston Martin and Bentley.

Jaguar revealed images of the Type 01's dramatically minimalist cabin, which bosses said is designed to make 'every journey an occasion'.

The most striking architectural feature is a central spine running the full length of the interior.

This creates four distinct seating areas and emphasises what Jaguar describes as the car's 'longitudinal' design philosophy.

The Daily Mail and This is Money have already driven a pre-production prototype and been impressed by its effortless performance. 

Jaguar said the cabin has been engineered to feel as though it closes in around the driver. 

The sensation is enhanced by a notably lower driving position than is typical in most electric cars.

Our test drive earlier this year backed up that claim. 

When we got behind the wheel of the Type 01 in March, the descent into the driver's seat felt more pronounced than normal, creating the impression of sitting deep within the guts of the chassis.

The groundbreaking seating position has been achieved by splitting the 120kWh battery pack beneath the floor, allowing the seats to be mounted lower than would otherwise be possible.

As a result, occupants sit lower than in most EVs, where the cabin is effectively perched on top of a large battery pack.

It is also one reason Jaguar has managed to keep the car's roofline to a relatively low 1.4m.

During our early drive, the entire cockpit was hidden beneath covers, with cloth screens concealing displays and temporary panels masking key design details.

The images released in August finally revealed the technology and features that were concealed – and those that will define Jaguar interiors going forward.

Rather than featuring a conventional central touchscreen, the Type 01 uses a wide high-definition display that serves as the instrument cluster and extends into the middle of the dashboard.

This is paired with a small palm-sized digital screen integrated into the central spine, which controls cabin temperature, air recirculation and heated seat functions.

The first deliveries for the full‑production Type 01 are scheduled for early 2027

Jaguar's lineage of 'Type' suffix nameplates dates back to the Le Mans‑winning C‑Type racing car of the 1950s. However, it is most recognised for the wonderful E‑Type of the Sixties

While there are no traditional buttons, drivers interact with illuminated flush-mounted controls embedded within a twin-spoke Art Deco-inspired steering wheel.

These are used to navigate displays and activate voice controls.

Jaguar says the digital interfaces have been 'intelligently applied for control on demand'.

Another major talking point is the 'Digital ClearSight Rear View Display', mounted centrally at the base of the windscreen.

The system streams footage from a roof-mounted camera and replaces the need for a conventional rear window, mirroring a solution already adopted by the Polestar 4.

The display also forms part of the car's front soundbar, removing the need for speakers traditionally housed in the doors that usually fail to elevate true acoustic sensations to the height of the occupants' ears.

Jaguar says the cabin features a range of concealed storage spaces, hidden technologies and unexpected flashes of colour, describing the design as a manifestation of its 'exuberant modernist' philosophy.

The company is also placing significant emphasis on materials.

Brass-inspired finishes feature along the central spine and door tops, while the redesigned Jaguar leaper emblem appears as what the brand calls 'signature art pieces'.

Overhead, an expansive panoramic roof spans almost the entire ceiling to give a glasshouse effect.

The images reveal four individual seats with broad backrests with no stitching across the panel – this is to deliver the most enhanced comfort levels.

The door panels appear to have no traditional handles inside, instead opting for an electronic button release – something that's become a cause of concern for Lexus owners and is due to be banned in China from next year.

The Type 01 will boast in excess of 1,000bhp.

This means the first all-new Jaguar of its reborn electric era will be hugely powerful but also highly sophisticated.

Performance comes from a three-motor setup featuring a single electric motor at the front and two at the rear.

Advanced torque vectoring technology distributes power between individual wheels, monitoring grip and wheel slip up to 1,000 times every second.

Inside the new £130,000 Jaguar Type 01: This was our first glimpse at the British firm's all-new electric GT car

Rather than featuring a conventional central touchscreen, the Type 01 uses a wide high-definition display that serves as the instrument cluster and extends into the middle of the dash

The four seats have broad backrests with no stitching across the panel - this is to deliver the most enhanced comfort levels

Overhead, an expansive panoramic roof spans almost the entire ceiling to give a glasshouse affect

Brass-inspired finishes feature along the central spine and door tops, while the redesigned Jaguar leaper emblem appears as what the brand calls 'signature art pieces'

While Jaguar has yet to confirm range, the 120kWh battery is expected to be good for a real-world range of around 430 miles on a single charge.

Torque vectoring – the distribution of engine power to individual wheels rather than across an axle – manages the delivery of power while also monitoring for any modicum of wheel slip some 1,000 times per second. 

Energy will be delivered from a 120kWh battery pack with a very clever design feature: a split in the cell structure in the floor to provide more comfortable legroom for rear‑seat occupants.

This should see the car deliver an estimated 430 miles of range on a full charge.

The Type 01 name will feature subtly on the car's bodywork as Jaguar adopts a minimalist design language for its new breed of battery‑powered vehicles.

This includes a strikethrough motif where the bonnet meets the windscreen, along with 'bold, linear graphics' that will be a signature of the 'new' Jaguar.

A sneak preview of its visual identity was showcased in May as the car made an appearance in Monaco for the Formula E races – the eco‑conscious alternative to F1.

• Do YOU have a story? Email William.G.Hallowell@dailymail.co.uk