What happened behind the scenes at Jaguar’s relaunch: RAY MASSEY on car controversy

With Wicked, the Wizard of Oz spin-off, hitting theaters, what better time to explore how “magic” works in the motor industry.

My story focuses on the controversial “rebranding” of British carmaker Jaguar and the subsequent launch this week in Miami of its radical new Type 00 fastback two-seat electric concept car.

In pink with gullwing doors, it’s the precursor to three 1,000-horsepower production cars due in 2026: a four-door GT grand tourer (with a camouflaged prototype now in testing), an SUV and a coupe. sports car that promises to travel 478 miles on a single charge. .

Until then, no Jaguar cars will be sold in the UK.

In The Wizard of Oz, the omnipotent wizard projects a terrifying aura. Only when our heroine Dorothy’s dog, Toto, pulls back the curtain, is the “wizard” revealed to be a mere mortal.

Having covered this week’s Jaguar controversy, let me take you on a secret peek behind the curtain of the company’s car launch to reveal what really happened.

At the beginning of November, I was among journalists invited to Jaguar Land Rover’s world-leading design and engineering center in Gaydon, Warwickshire, for a day-long dive into its ambitious plans and a preview of the new model.

Upon arrival, we handed over our phones and signed a confidentiality agreement that threatened sanctions if breached. Inside we attended a four-hour briefing and walked around the car.

JLR’s creative director, Professor Gerry McGovern OBE, the design wizard overseeing Jaguar’s “reinvention”, had promised it would be “amazing”. Was.

But it was Jaguar’s rebranding presentation (later dismissed by critics as “woke” or worse) that set alarm bells ringing.

However, Jaguar bosses were candid that they were deliberately setting out to cause controversy. This was no accident. The brand was obsolete and the cars were not selling. Drastic measures were needed to make it noticeable.

So to “reimagine” Jaguar, they would abandon the 85 per cent of their middle-aged and middle-class customers who spend £50,000 per car and target more of a younger, wealthier and more diverse clientele willing to spend £100,000 on a car. spectacular that dares to be different. And they would only need to sell around 50,000 a year worldwide.

But to get the attention of that rarefied new group of bright, happy people, they first had to create controversy.

The first came when the rebranding story broke with a social media ad showing various models in a pink, alien landscape, but no cars.

Then, hours before the official presentation, photographs of the new Jaguar were ‘leaked’. Suspicion fell on Jaguar. When I asked them, they did not deny it.

The magicians of the reborn Jaguar believe that its future lies beyond the yellow brick road. And if that fails, it really will be the curtain for them.