Jaguar’s Identity Crisis Comes With a Charging Cable

Jaguar used to make cars that looked as though they were doing something improper while standing perfectly still. The E-Type had curves. The C-Type and D-Type had purpose. The XJ13 looked like somebody had persuaded a fighter plane to develop manners.

Then came the Type 00, looking, to my eye, like a refrigerator lying on its side on a piano dolly. Apparently, the future of British motoring includes a vegetable drawer.

Let’s separate the appliances. The Type 00, unveiled in December 2024, is the two-door concept. The Type 01, revealed in October 2026, is the production four-door electric grand tourer. They are different cars. My disappointment has room for both.

The concept’s enormous bonnet, blunt surfaces and glassless rear end make a formidable statement. Unfortunately, the statement I hear is, “Your delivery window is between eight and five.” The Type 01 translates that theatrical exercise into something people will actually be asked to buy. It gains practicality. I am still looking for the seduction.

Jaguar says the Type 01 offers up to 1,030 PS from three motors, with first deliveries anticipated in the second half of 2027. Those are manufacturer claims and plans, not my road-test findings. I have not driven it. It may accelerate with enough enthusiasm to rearrange your internal organs. Plenty of things move quickly. A dropped grand piano is quite impressive in that department.

The creative direction behind the Type 00 was overseen by JLR’s then chief creative officer, Gerry McGovern. Jaguar managing director Rawdon Glover championed the broader reinvention. Design leadership and brand strategy are different jobs, although the results met at the same unusually colorful crossroads. McGovern left JLR in March 2026; pinning every subsequent decision on him would be lazy, even by the standards of a man currently comparing a Jaguar to kitchen equipment.

The “Copy Nothing” campaign certainly attracted attention. Its car-free teaser struck me as an extraordinary way to introduce a car company: remove the one object that explains why anybody cares. A fashion installation had apparently borrowed the keys to Coventry.

I picture Sir William Lyons studying all this in an imaginary celestial design review, reaching for a pencil and quietly asking where the Jaguar went. Beside him, legendary test driver Norman Dewis might reasonably request something worth taking around the next corner. These are my imagined reactions, of course. The departed deserve better than being recruited into a marketing focus group.

Electric power is not the offense. A beautiful electric Jaguar could be a wonderful thing. My objection is the visual divorce from a heritage that included the SS100, the E-Type and those magnificent racing cats.

For the drive to the course, I want something that makes me glance back after parking. This makes me wonder whether I remembered to defrost it.

Jaguar can reinvent itself. It can chase new buyers. But if the grand strategy requires explaining why desire has been replaced by a mission statement, perhaps the next revolutionary feature should be a mirror.

Photographs and sources

Type 00 photographs by Calreyn88, CC0 1.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Header: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jaguar_Type_00.jpg Front detail: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jaguar_Type_00_8.jpg Licence: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/

Type 01 photographs by Lcaa9, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Front: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jaguar_Type_01_Front_at_London_Showroom.jpg Rear (brightness adjustment by Wikisympathisant): https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Jaguar_Type_01_Rear_at_London_Showroom.jpg Licence: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/ Images reproduced without further editorial alteration; display resizing only. Photographers do not endorse this opinion.

Jaguar Type 00 announcement: https://media.jlr.com/jaguar/news/2024/12/jaguar-unveils-type-00-unmistakable-unexpected-dramatic Jaguar Type 01 announcement: https://media.jlr.com/jaguar/news/2026/10/jaguar-type-01-new-era-begins McGovern departure: https://www.wardsauto.com/news/jlr-lead-designer-resigns-march-2026/815421/ Rebrand campaign: https://www.theverge.com/2024/11/19/24300569/jaguar-rebrand-new-logo-ev