The Jaguar Type 01 Is A 1,000-horsepower Beast. But It Isn’t For Everyone

It looks oh-so-cool, but it’s not cheap or practical, and will likely ruffle a few feathers.

Photo by: Jaguar

By: Kevin Williams

Oct 6, at 8:01pm ET

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The Jaguar Type 01 is the production version of the Type 00 coupe. It is fully electric.
Jaguar calls the Type 01 a four-door GT, not a sedan. It has four doors and four seats.
The Type 01 will open for sale early next year, and start at a price of $130,500.

“We don’t anticipate this car being for everyone,” Rawdon Glover, the Managing Director of Jaguar, said at the unveiling of the Jaguar Type 01. The car is immensely important for the brand, necessitating a secretive short trip to JLR’s Gaydon, UK campus for an early preview. It’s an incredibly controversial project, too. Jaguar killed off its entire lineup for this, rebooting the brand with a new logo and new look. The new design and direction were met with bashing by conservative pundits, landing Jaguar in the midst of yet another culture war.

Thankfully, the haters haven’t prevailed, because the Jaguar Type 01 is such a stunning piece of metal.

Jaguar’s tagline for both the brand and the car is “Copy Nothing,” and I have to agree—the Type 01 doesn’t look like much else on the road. The proportions are largely identical to what we’ve seen from the original hot pink and ice blue concepts shown off at the 2024 Miami Art Basel. This means the car is exceptionally cab-rearward, with extremely large wheels and tiny windows; it’s almost the antithesis of cars like the Lucid Air. The side surfacing is strangely blank, but elegant; it's remarkably clean and functional, as if the Bauhaus school of design decided to resurrect itself and make a modern electric car.

Gallery: Jaguar Type 01

Source: Jaguar

The front fascia is blank, but once again, subtly more complex than your initial impressions. Since it's an electric car, there’s no need for a huge grille to cool an engine, yet the relief surfaces in the closed-off front add drama to such a strikingly blank front end. At the rear, there’s no rear windshield, while the taillights, turn signals, and reverse lights are all integrated into the faux-rear fascia louvers.

Photo by: Jaguar

From the outside, it’s such a hard car to take your eyes away from. It’s delightfully cartoonish; EV motors and batteries should dictate a more useful shape, and yet, the Jaguar’s long hood looks like it’s hiding a huge V8. Contrary to typical EV design principles of late, Jaguar’s designers insist that the cartoonish proportions are in part possible because of its EV structure. Without being tied down to the traditional ergonomic limitations of an ICE powertrain, the designers were free to make the shape as wild as possible. This means 23-inch wheels, a super long hood, a tiny front overhang, but a Batmobile-like rear end. Also, despite being blocky and large, the Type 01 only has a drag coefficient of 0.23, making it Jaguar's most aerodynamic car ever.

The interior is likely to be a point of contention. Jaguar insisted on leaning into a sort of luxo-minimalist layout. There are three screens: a big one for the driver, a small cell-phone-sized one in the center console, and a phone-style screen for rear passengers. I can understand why some may not have been in love with the Type 01’s interior, since it’s not on the same level of lush as other pricy luxury cars.

Photo by: Jaguar

In person, I can’t disagree with the Type 01’s detractors more. Jaguar’s designers harped on materials and design in an attempt to push the car’s ethos toward a younger buyer. The interior’s unconventional surfaces and color choices feel fresh, as if I’m sitting in an expensive modern apartment.

It’s not all peachy keen, though. Those outrageous proportions make the Type 01 feel snug inside. The rear seat only has room for two, and there’s not much light or legroom. The trunk feels small, and Jaguar admits that the frunk is tiny despite the gigantic hood. (They wouldn’t show me.) It’s not a car for everyone. This car’s style is a big selling point, and well, everything else must follow suit. Even practicality.

Luckily, the mechanical bits seem to be more bite than bark here. Power for the Type 01 comes from a tri-motor setup producing a whopping 1,015 horsepower. This is fed by a 118 kWh battery, which Jaguar says should achieve about 400 miles of range on the EPA cycle. It uses an 850-volt electrical architecture and should charge from 10-80% in as little as 22 minutes when connected to a 350 kW DC fast charger.

Jaguar representatives say the Type 01 will drive just as engaging as other Jaguars. The weight distribution is 50/50, while the driving position is low for an EV. This is in part due to the packaging of the 118 kWh battery; it’s not entirely under the main cabin. A few cells are split off and placed in front of the driver, improving both weight balance and ergonomics. The frunk may be tiny, but that long hood is doing something, at least.

Photo by: Jaguar

Now, will it work? I don’t know. I’ve always liked the idea of Jaguar scrapping its stodgy image of old, poorly made cars sold to people who don’t like change, for one that’s significantly more fashion-forward. Cars and fashion have always been joined at the hip in some way, but I think that car brands have been less than able or willing to embrace what a true fashion-forward marketing or brand would look like. Of course, there have been one-offs like the Virgil Abloh Maybach, but I think Jaguar is proving what it could look like on a wider scale. The Type 01 feels like it’s the last accessory in a head-to-toe Balenciaga outfit.

What do you think?

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Which is likely the brand’s intended goal. Jaguar wants this car to appeal to a younger buyer, and that means ingratiating itself with the lifestyles they lead. The Type 01 represents a new era for Jaguar. Perhaps the marketing and initial rebrand were confusing and not well received, but it served as a way to communicate to new buyers what exactly it stood for and where the brand wants to go.

“What we’re looking for is people who have a deep, emotional reaction to what we’re doing. These purchases aren’t about need. They’re about desire. They’re about want,” said Glover. Jaguar wants you to want the Type 01. The Jaguar Type 01 orders open in early 2027, with deliveries starting in the last half of that year. To get one, expect to fork out a hefty $130,500 for the privilege of owning Jaguar's electric four-door GT.