Jaguar Is Betting It All On This Giant Block Of Aluminum With 1,015 Horsepower And No Rear Window

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