A couple of years ago, Jaguar seemingly turned the Internet upside down when it revealed a bold plan to reinvigorate itself. Jaguar launched an advertisement that contained no cars, but did have a lot of pink and a bunch of eccentric models. That angered a surprising number of people, and then the Jaguar Type 00 concept car kept the Internet busy. Now, Jaguar is finally ready to show the world its reinvention. This is the Jaguar Type 01, the 1,015-horsepower, aluminum monolith that doesn’t have a rear window and represents the brand’s bet on the future.
The Type 01 was revealed tonight in New York City in the only way befitting a reborn Jaguar that’s trying to make a statement. The new car was plastered on the jumbo screens lining Times Square, Dumbo, and the Lower East Side, ending at a gathering at the event venue, Storied in West Chelsea. This reveal was years in the making, and followed what sounds like a herculean effort from designers and engineers. The creation of the Type 01 produced more than 360 patent applications, and as Jaguar says, it is the most advanced car the brand has ever engineered, even surpassing the XJ220.
So, what did the minds from England come up with? Like that reveal video two years ago, the best way to describe the new Jaguar Type 01 is that it’s loud and proud. Every angle of this car makes you feel some way, and so do its wild power output, lack of a rear window, and minimalist interior. Let’s take a look at the car that the leaping cat is betting the farm on.
It’s Been A Long Road
First, let’s do a quick recap of how we got here. In November 2024, Jaguar proclaimed, in all caps, “FEARLESS. EXUBERANT. COMPELLING. THIS IS JAGUAR, REIMAGINED.” What were we yelling about? Jaguar decided to hit the reset button after what some, including our Jason Torchinsky, say was years of stagnation.
Indeed, Jaguar’s global sales peaked at about 180,000 in 2018, and then it was a downhill slide from there. Sure, Jaguars were as pretty as they always were, but that wasn’t enough to convince buyers to keep away from the competition. By 2022, sales hit 61,661 units, or less than half of the brand’s peak. Sales remained roughly the same in 2023.
Winds of change came in 2024. Something had to be done to bring a glimmer back to one of Britain’s most revered brands. Instead of letting its aerodynamic-stall continue, Jaguar decided to start over with a bold plan. Jaguar ended production of the XE, XF, and F-Type as it began moving towards an all-electric future. Sales slipped a little to about 59,300 units. By the end of 2025, Jaguar stopped producing vehicles entirely.
In a weird way, despite the harsh criticism against the now-infamous ad and the Type 00 concept car, Jaguar has probably been getting more attention than it has in years. Thankfully, dealers still had hundreds of cars to sell this year, but sales still collapsed, and everyone has been waiting for this moment. Jaguar is betting the farm on this new car, so it has to be good.
The Type 01’s Engineering
What the engineers at Jaguar have achieved sounds pretty incredible. Jaguar says the Type 01 is the first car to ride on an all-new Jaguar Electric Architecture, a native battery-electric platform that the brand says allows its engineers and designers to experiment with new proportions and the occupant experience.
In explaining the construction behind the platform, Jaguar says it engineers took pointers from Jaguar TCS Racing to adapt a racing development mindset to mold the shape of the Type 01’s body. Jaguar continues:
Solid foundations ensure the chassis can do its job. Type 01 has the strongest underpinnings of any Jaguar ever made, with 73 percent aluminum and torsional rigidity of approximately 38,100 lb-ft per degree. Ingenious thinking is evident in the way JEA integrates its 118kWh battery alongside a vertically stacked electric motor and gearbox. The battery pack connects with the chassis directly to increase rigidity, delivering enhancements to handling, ride comfort and cabin refinement.
[…]
Underfloor batteries traditionally raise the roofline but not for Type 01. The unique body architecture allows the battery pack to extend ahead of the passenger compartment to maximize range with zero compromise on vehicle height. Specially designed Tri-Apex Node structural elements help to distribute energy in the event of a frontal impact, capable of absorbing and stopping 28.7 tons in an impact. In side impacts, the pack itself absorbs 70 percent of all crash energy. The extra 32 cells accommodated by this innovation may contribute up to 70 miles of range to the total range and 148HP.
A patent pending structural high-voltage junction box, which houses the advanced Battery Energy Management system, is positioned between the front wheels 13.8in (350mm) ahead of the bulkhead and doubles as a strut brace for the front suspension. Packaging efficiency meets structural integrity. Key components are carefully positioned to optimize cabin space. The underfloor battery is split to create extra vertical legroom and improve comfort for rear passengers, while maintaining the dramatic low roofline. Connectors for the 200 battery cells are positioned on the sides of the individual cells, rather than on top, to save precious millimeters of battery height. As a result, 80 percent of the pack height is dedicated to energy storage, reflecting an advanced approach to battery packaging.
The Jaguar Type 01 has a 50:50 weight distribution and is fueled by an 118 kWh lithium battery and 850-volt architecture. Jaguar says it’s good for up to 400 miles of range, provided you use the car’s optional 21-inch wheels over its standard 23-inch set. Yep, this is a case where the smaller wheels are the optional choice! The range is a manufacturer estimate, and Jaguar will presumably have the EPA rating at a later date. Anyway, the battery can charge as fast as 350 kW, which allows it to replenish 200 miles of range in about 13 minutes.
This battery feeds a tri-motor drive system that has a total output of 1,015 horsepower and 1,007 lb.-ft. of torque. The Type 01 can accelerate from a dead stop to 62 mph in 3.1 seconds. From there, just another 4.0 seconds will get you to 112 mph. In other words, like most other expensive electric cars, the Type 01 is rather rapid.
The body panels are made out of aluminum, and, apparently, engineers spent a painstaking amount of time forming the shape you’re looking at right now. The rear quarters, for example, have five planes and three feature lines that converge on a single point. To reach this effect, engineers are said to have used “traditional skills and expertise” alongside more than 1,500 hours spent just perfecting the pressing of the panel.
Jaguar calls the rear quarter “The Impossible Panel,” and producing it involves a six-stage process that utilizes a machine standing four stories high and putting out 2,500 tons of pressure. [Ed Note: Don’t get into a crash. -DT].
That body, Jaguar says, is also quite aerodynamic, despite its brutalist look. Apparently, the body, which was the result of over 7,000 wind tunnel tests, has a drag coefficient of just 0.23, and this slippery figure was achieved, at times, by shaving millimeters off the body’s surfaces. In one instance, Jaguar says, honing millimeters off the front corners of the car, in addition to redirecting airflow along the side and rear of the car, resulted in an extra 12 miles of range. Flush electric door handles, a three-stage spoiler, and active vanes further help aero. [Ed Note: Oftentimes this type of iterative process is done in a wind tunnel with a 3:8 scale version of the car. -DT].
While electric door handles are going to be disappointing for some, the good news is that Jaguar says that they’re strong enough to break through 4mm of ice, so there’s that. This platform is said to embrace the philosophy of the software-defined vehicle, which Jaguar says means that the car will get better as it ages thanks to software updates over-the-air.
Credit where credit’s due, Jaguar’s engineers have seemingly done a great job with this clean-sheet platform. The designers also took a big swing as well, but maybe not everyone’s going to like what they did.
Intentionally Brutalist
To put it bluntly, the Type 01 is a monolith — a brutalist monument, and it turns its cheeks to the voluptuous forms of Jaguar’s past. Resident sassy car designer Adrian Clarke described the Type 00 concept, which this design largely follows, as a “Concrete Shithouse,” which, ouch. But I think the production version is much better!
There are some curves in this design, but it is tall, squared off, and has shoulders like a linebacker. There’s also far more metal than windows. Yes, I’m talking about the side profile of the vehicle, but also in the rear. The Type 01 has a tailgate, but there is no window to be found back there.
In fairness to me, my calling it a monolith wouldn’t be an insult to Jaguar, as the press release itself happily describes the rear end as having a “monolithic quality.” I’m not a fan of not having a rear window. I want my cars to have windows. I feel like I’m in a bunker when natural light is taken away. But that’s just me.
But something I do like in the rear end is the structure the taillights hide in. It reminds me of the speaker grille of a fancy stereo, or maybe the exhaust of a spaceship. If my descriptions don’t make any sense, fear not, for Adrian will give his take on this car at a later date.
Moving inside, the Type 01 follows the trend of other ultra-minimalist EVs, and takes away your buttons for a giant 24-inch screen, with a second seven-inch screen to control your HVAC and other core vehicle settings.
There’s one more screen at the very front of the dashboard, which sits alongside a giant Meridian 13-speaker soundbar that spans the width of the interior. That screen is your camera rearview mirror. A further 25 other speakers are found elsewhere in the car. Rear seat passengers also get a screen with the same functions as the seven-inch display.
In terms of tech, the Type 01 is pretty loaded, featuring Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, a variety of music apps, a “connected” navigation system, gaming apps, wireless device charging, an air purifier, a fragrance diffuser, and built-in 5G Wi-Fi.
All of this comes wrapped in a space featuring four seats that are divided up by a central aluminum spine with brass-look elements. Each seat gets its own climate control plus heating and cooling. The driver and passenger seats, which are 12-way adjustable, also have a hot stone massage effect feature. Woolblend Kvadrat DuoWeave textile wraps around the cabin, and the seats can be had in leather or an Ultrafabrics NeoGrain textile. The floor is more textile, and the headrests have some embroidery action going on.
More Buttons, Please!
There’s no doubt that this is a luxurious interior, and it looks like a nice place to be. But I have to take some credit away from Jaguar because I do so desperately wish this era of putting everything behind screens would end. Car interiors don’t need to be aggressively “clean” and sanitized like a doctor’s office; buttons aren’t going to ruin the vibe!
Will it be successful? Who knows, but Jaguar says that the order books open in early 2027 and that Type 01 will start at $130,500. Deliveries will begin in the second half of the year. Oh, before you go, you should know that the Type 01 name apparently does mean something. “Type” is a reference to the Jags of old, while “0” means no emissions and “1” means the first of a new generation.
I have a feeling that this design isn’t going to land with a lot of people. Just the lack of a rear window alone is a disappointment to me. But I suppose Jaguar did want to make a statement and did want to go bold. For that, I think it’s mission accomplished through and through.
I think that, no matter where you stand on this car, you will have something to say about it. You are going to talk about it, and you will give it attention. It’s also not another generic crossover, and I think that alone will please some people. So I think Jaguar pulled its goals off. Hopefully, that also translates to sales!
All images: Jaguar
Numbers, big numbers, … 0-60…, numbers.., wind tunnels…, specs, more specs, …21″ wheels…, big numbers…, specs…, more big numbers… Lithium…, catchy words…, more specs, big battery… Big numbers,… Yada yada…, aluminium…, more numbers…, small numbers…, software…, more catchy terms…, numbers…, leather…, numbers…, catchy terms.
Big, tacky, ugly, tasteless, car.
This is what happens when engineers and marketers run amok and the designers are kept on the bench.
Not true at all, this is a rare case of design having massive influence and being able to shape wild proportions from day one, and then letting the engineers somehow make it work. Usually it’s done the other way around.
In context, on the street among other cars this will stand out, no doubt about it. To me this is a modern day Aston Lagonda. Proportions and visual impact first, practicalities second. Whether you like the styling or not, it’s the biggest part of it. And in that sense it’s a proper jag, just like the E type and XJS.
I see your point, and yes, I think you are right.
I still think the car is too big, ugly, and tacky. At times, that combo makes me say things without thinking.
I like the idea of “bold reinvention”, which the company is going for (and perhaps in need of). But this execution misses (with me, admittedly.) I hope whatever follows (the Type 02?) hits the mark better – I don’t want Jaguar to go the way of Pontiac.
(And the Jaguar corporate marketing mumbo jumbo that Mercedes quotes makes my eyes roll…)
This thing is going to flop so hard it’ll make the Cybertruck look like a roaring success in comparison.
Well, I don’t hate it. I’m not sure it says Jaguar to me, but I think that’s what they’re going for.
The people who wanted a wood and leather English drawing room just aren’t a big market anymore. So this is about as far from that as a Jag could be.
I’m not a fan of the no rear window, but the overall body shape is interesting. Seems more Bentley to me though.
If I were in charge, I’d make the rear doors coach doors (or suicide doors to us commoners) and offer a shooting brake version.
We’ll see, but each generation of car introduced since they abandoned that asthetic has sold worse than its predecessor, the first gen XF sold worse than the S-Type, the second gen XF sold worse than the first gen, the XE sold worse than the X-Type, and the X351 XJ sold worse than the X350. I know the conventional wisdom is that the more contemporary styling direction taken by Jaguar post-Ford was some sort of breath of fresh air that reinvigorated the brand, but the actual sales performance doesn’t support that. Similar to the fable of Chrysler’s Forward Look, few people remember their sales were actually a mixed bag for 1957, the Chrysler brand declined in volume, Plymouth grew, but by less than the market, and so saw their share decline, and the company laid off 60,000 workers and idled two plants around Christmas as production paused to allow dealers time to clear inventory that was stacking up, but the conventional wisdom is that somehow the gorgeous 1957 models “saved” the company
I think they should have stayed with the 4 head light style. People saw the 4 round headlight and knew it was a JAG. Keeping with the same style has worked for the 911.
The cars in the Harrison Ford Blade Runner look more realistic than that thing. Yeesh. I’m not the target audience, obviously, so what do I know?
I know it’s the first car I’ve seen that out uglys BMW. That takes some effort.
Supposedly it’s too long for UK parking spaces.
I’ve seen Range Rovers not fit in a space, so this should be fun in the UK.
How does the luggage door work? The top panel clearly lifts, okay… does the Grill/light/strikethrough panel drop down? Otherwise would make a very high boot lip.
I’m going to bet against that by not buying one.
That one quarter view kinda screams Chrysler 300m, with a Hyundai nose.
I tend to like the minimalist interiors but that one is not quite my thing.
And the exterior… I’m Team Sedan so I guess that’s a plus but… damn.
At least it doesn’t have a passenger screen.
It’s like a car version of the profoundly ugly Cyberputz.
Jaguar betting the farm on an all-electric sedan with no provision for hybrid or ICE powertrains, no rear window, electric door handles and touchscreen controls for everything is going to turn out great, right? RIGHT!?
It has no alibi. It is U-G-L-Y.
It looks nothing like a locomotive but it reminds me of a locomotive. I wonder if you feel like you’re driving one from behind the wheel? Just piloting a big hunk of metal with the feeling of easy power at normal speeds but then feel a little un-easy as you float towards its top end.
If a modern diesel electric were made like one of the old streamlined ones, while still being squared off like the modern locomotives, it might look like that.
Just stretch the middle horizontal section vertically, so that the Jag is 15 feet tall.
For Jaguar’s sake (and survival, probably) I hope the Type 01 is an incredible performer that will entice buyers into showrooms because looks alone aren’t going to do it.
The leaping Jaguar logo implies a lithe, powerful creature of feline grace and ferocity. The Type 01 is more of Maine Coon Cat … a pregnant Maine Coon Cat.
The nicest thing I can say about the design is that it makes the new Charger look good by comparison.
This is not a car I would ever consider owning, but I know who would and may I say it’ll look fine parked beside your Cybertruck.
No kidding! That panel might be more danger prone than the idiotic Rivian rear quarters!
Outside of that front shot, I do actually like most of the angles on this. And that interior, nice modernist vibe. However, echoing other comments, that’s not what I associate Jaguar with.
At any rate, it will be fun to hear uncle Adrian to go all “…I’m the monkey and you’re the cheese grater” on this.
Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon on your headrest?
I love this design tbh! it’s like a cyberpunk Chrysler 300 fastback. the lack of rear window is…a choice, but if Ford can do it with the transit van I guess jag can do it lol. having like zero buttons sucks but it’s way cheaper to do one big touchscreen and it’s jaguar lmal
First Ferrari, now Jaguar. I think the old guard has officially jumped the shark.
It does make me continue to believe that as the old guard car companies focus more and more on being luxury brands that also sell cars, what will eventually be seen as the iconic drivers cars of the 21st century are going to be made by the likes of Hyundai and such, not them.
$130k? I thought they were trying to get into the $200k and 300k range?
For that price – expensive, but still within the reach of mere mortals – it will sell to a select few attention seekers (you know the type). But I assume 75% of buyers will be in China where tackiness and over-the-top styling is encouraged.
But its weird because it still looks cheap. That interior is like what a poor person thinks an expensive interior should look like.
The sooner this fails, the CEO is fired, and the brand sold, the sooner Jaguar can go back to making gorgeously sexy cars like it had been doing for much of its history.
I was confused by that too, and even more confused that some outlets are reporting it as $130k GBB (which is $173k USD) instead of USD. I guess we will see when it goes on sale, but $130k USD seems too low for the brand cache they are trying to attain for a car this polarizing.
This thing will probably have cash on that enormous hood, hurry down to your local
Jagjaguar dealership!I get strong Audi vibes from the front end. It even kind of looks like it has the Audi rings on the front “grille” from a distance.
From some angles this looks great, from others… Not so much. I really like the idea of a brutalist take on the classic pre-war Jags that I think this is shooting for, but I think this just doesn’t quite land it.
Also I now consider no-button interiors to be a cheap cost-cutting measure rather than a luxury thing. The thing I hate most about my Crown and Jaecoo is the lack of buttons due climate controls and seat heating/cooling. And you can still offer a minimalist aesthetic with buttons!
I like it. Then again I’m not opposed to “everything on a screen” either when it’s done well. Which needs a lot of effort and thought to do well. As always, let’s see how it is to drive.
No one is going to drive these, they will be driven in them. Or they will just sit in a climate controlled garage.
The price means a good number of them will be driven IMO. Even if some do end up locked away, they’ll have to drive decently to earn the garage space.
I think some people see “six figure price” and assume that the buyers are billionaires with drivers, rather than just upper middle class people who live in suburbs and drive their kids to school.
This thing has a lower sticker price than my Cadillac did and I assure you I couldn’t afford a driver.
I live in an upper middle class neighborhood in the midwest. Based on my estimates, I’d say most people nearby me are right around the 95% percentile of incomes in the US. Neighbor is a laywer and drives a really nice Land Rover. Lots of brand new F-150s, Audis, Bimmers, Lexuses, etc. I see absolutely nothing on the roads even close to a 130k MSRP, much less a crazy new model like this that will absolutely have limited production numbers and huge dealer markups.
Your upper trim Escalade (assuming that, not a Celestiq, which are the only two Caddy’s in this price range) is far beyond what I’d consider “upper middle class”. I’m not saying billionaires will be the only owners. I’m saying that the owners will not be driving them regularly. The Venn diagram of people who can afford to daily drive a 130k+ car and also drive a lot has to be infinitesimally small relative to the population of the US.
I drive a CT5 Blackwing with a $131K sticker.
My simple question, to avoid quibbling with definitions of class, which we seem to disagree on, is how many people in the US do you think have a driver, vs drive themselves? How many people with S Classes, BMW 7 Series, Lucids, etc (the natural competition to this car) drive themselves vs hire a driver? Very very few. Those cars don’t have markups either, and I’d be shocked if this did, considering its polarizing reaction.
Your comments make it seem like this is a Pagani or Bugatti in your mind, when it’s actually just priced competitively with other luxury sedans that no one bats an eye at, and which are not driven by chauffeurs or parked in garages hoping to appreciate in value.
Nice Celestiq bro.
The Celestiq is 10x the car this ugly door stop is.
Early 90’s futurism.
I don’t want to automotive kink shame, so if someone out there likes this then that’s cool, just know you like something unredeemable. We all have something in our lives that we like that is unredeemable.
My word this is ugly though. sadly it will probably sell quite well now that the cybertruck has lowered the bar so much in this monolith, brutalist styling area.