Jaguar enters a new era with Type 01
The Jaguar Type 01 has had a rough start in life. It’s the first production car of the brand’s new electric era, and comes after a rebrand that retired the leaping cat and growler badge for a stripped-back, mixed-case JaGUar wordmark.
The new look divided opinion, and plenty found it bland, and to be more suited as a fashion label than a car maker. They had a point. The recently revealed Type 01 is where Jaguar’s plan to go fully electric and move upmarket finally starts to take shape.
As a 4-door GT, the Type 01 is positioned as a clean-sheet car, not an evolution of an existing model, and even if you pay attention to detail, there are no similarities to the current Jaguars. The look, for example, is subjective, deliberately dramatic and futuristic, thanks to a long bonnet, low roofline, and sleek silhouette. According to Jaguar, it’s the most aerodynamic model in its history books.
Underneath, it sits on a completely new platform designed specifically for it, and that has allowed engineers to achieve a 50:50 weight distribution for better balance.
In the performance stable, it brings deranged performance figures from its tri-motor setup (two at the back and one up front). Power is rated at 757kW and 1,365Nm, enough to send it to 100km/h from a standstill in 3.2 seconds. These figures put it against the Mercedes-AMG GT63 4-Door Coupé EV, which brings 860kW and a hefty 2,000Nm.
As for the battery, it’s a 118kWh pack that gives the Type 01 a range of up to 720km between charges. Its 850-volt architecture supports DC charging at up to 350kW, adding up to 321km of range in 13 minutes.
Inside, the Type 01 looks different from the old Jaguars. It features a central spine that runs through the cabin and creates individual spaces for occupants. There are brass-inspired elements, a 24-inch OLED driver display, a 7-inch control screen, a panoramic soundbar and sensory seats.
From the XJ and the F-Type, Jaguar has always built cars with a bit of theatre, and the Type 01 seems to carry that on in a new layout, albeit in EV form. Whether it will still appeal to the same fan base remains to be seen once it goes on sale.
