Prestige car brand Jaguar has unveiled its much anticipated Type 00 concept design, what it describes as “unmistakable, unexpected, and dramatic” and a supposedly “fearless statement” that apparently captures the company’s original ethos to ‘Copy Nothing’.
Jaguar stunned the world in mid-November with a rebrand so out of kilter with its traditions that inspired American comedian Stephen Colbert to joke that it made the company logo look like “a luxury condom brand in an Eastern European dance club”.
This was followed by a new video which … well … should probably be allowed to speak for itself.
The rebrand is designed to reimagine a comment made by the company’s founder, Sir William Lyons, who believed that “a Jaguar should be a copy of nothing.”
And in that, Jaguar seem to have succeeded, a transformation so far divorced from the stately British prestige of previous decades as to be utterly baffling to many.
Jaguar – now owned by India’s Tara – has upped the ante, and the first designs of its Type 00 concept car which, from side-on, has a nose that resembles the Batmobile from the 1990s Batman: The Animated Series cartoon.
But from above and behind, the similarities to Batman’s famous drive fall away. From above, the Jaguar in pastel looks like one of the early car choices in the video game Rocket League, while it is only from behind that some semblance of the Jaguar from our memories is found.
Meanwhile, inside, a central 3.2-metre-long brass spine splits the interior from back to front, splitting a pair of floating instrument panels.
“Type 00 is a pure expression of Jaguar’s new creative philosophy,” said Professor Gerry McGovern, chief creative officer at Jaguar Land Rover. “It has an unmistakable presence.
“This is the result of brave, unconstrained creative thinking, and unwavering determination. It is our first physical manifestation and the foundation stone for a new family of Jaguars that will look unlike anything you’ve ever seen. A vision which strives for the highest level of artistic endeavour.”
There’s not a lot of real-world specifics to take from Jaguar’s unveiling of its Type 00 concept, with the lion’s share of the announcement couched in publicity- and design-speak that owes a lot to somebody’s thesaurus.
Apparently, the Type 00 has 23-inch alloy wheels, and has been unveiled in Miami Pink and London Blue. That it was unveiled at Miami Art Week should come as no surprise when looking at the images Jaguar have provided.
What we do know, however, is that Jaguar’s first reimagined production car will be an electric four-door GT that is expected to be revealed in late 2025 and will be built in the UK.
Jaguar has promised that the new model will use the company’s dedicated Jaguar Electric Architecture (JEA) and is targeting a range of up to 770km (WLTP), with fast charging capable of adding 321km in as little as 15 minutes.
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.