New Jaguar electric concept car unveiled

Called the Type 00, the new Jaguar concept car showcases the brand’s design direction and previews the upcoming production-spec 4-door GT.

Published On Dec 03, 2024 06:30:00 AM

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Following last month’s unveil of the its new logo and brand identity – over which there was much brouhaha – Jaguar has now taken the wraps off a concept car that it says previews the final production version due late next year. Will there be as much of a melee this time, too, or will the brand’s naysayers be placated? We got a first look at it in the UK, and here’s what we think.

Called the Type 00, 0 for zero emissions and 0 for a reset or restart, the concept car has a very bold and flamboyant character and is a vision of what the new Jaguar and its products would look like. For sure, it’s nothing like previous Jaguars that were all about elegance and subtlety. In an interview, Jaguar’s managing director Rawdon Glover told Autocar India that this exuberant design – how Jaguar defines it – is very intentional and meant to cater to an audience that enjoys bold and dramatic designs.

Also see: Tata Motors will not use new Jaguar (JEA) platform

It’s a big gamble, but Glover says the company also wanted to steer clear of the typical EV designs today, which all look like they’ve been done in a wind tunnel, making design sacrifices for range. Indeed, the car has a very upright nose, a long bonnet despite not needing one, massive wheels and flared-out wheel arches.

Also bold is the colour choice for the two show cars, pastel shades of pink and blue, and while there was much furore over this as well, the hues are a nod to the Miami Art Deco colour schemes.

What the Type 00 also shows us is how the earlier unveiled brand design elements playout. The Device Mark (Jaguar lettering over strike through pattern) is used as the traditional grille, while the Makers Mark (leaping cat over a strikethrough) features on the fenders. Meanwhile the Artist Mark (J and R monogram) appears in the hub caps.

Jaguar Type 00 concept car exterior

At the front, beside the Device Mark grille, are slim headlights, which top a massive blank vertical section of the bumper. The bumper’s lower edge carries an air splitter, air intakes and slim daytime running lamps. On the bonnet’s top surface, towards the trailing edge, is a strikethrough pattern that visually travels inside the cabin onto the dashboard’s top edge and looks very neat.

On the side, the car’s GT proportions are very obvious, with a very elongated bonnet and a large wheelbase, and while the Type 00 concept is a 2-door, the production car will be a 4-door GT and retain the same stance, says Jaguar. Also evident in the profile are the massive wheels and the small contrasting brass ingots that carry the Makers Mark and pop out to reveal rearview cameras. The front left fender also houses a powered hatch that holds what Jaguar calls the prism case. Inside this are three totems, key fobs, if you will, that can be placed in the centre console, each of which sets up the car to a specific theme, which includes ambient lighting and screen graphics. This idea could manifest in the production car as separate keys that set up the car to specific drive modes, including a valet mode.

At the rear, very evident because of their absence, are tail-lights. However, these are hidden inside the top and bottom lines of the massive strikethrough pattern that makes for a very unique rear treatment. The rear also features a glassless tailgate, with cameras feeding the rear view inside. The concept’s roof is a fixed glass roof with a strikethrough pattern, which, under the spotlights during the presentation, cast a similar light-and-shadow pattern onto the car’s interior. It looked very cool.

Jaguar Type 00 concept car interior

The Type 00 opens up via large butterfly doors to reveal a minimalistic cabin divided through the centre by a brass bar. Jaguar calls it the spine. It divides the entire cabin into two separate areas and creates two separate dashboards, complete with slide-out screens for the driver and the passenger.

The seats are upholstered in a stitch-free wool blend fabric and appear to be floating as they are mounted to the centre console, which is like a plinth made of travertine stone and supports both the seats and the centre spine.

In keeping with the minimalist theme, the screens are completely hidden, and you only realise their presence once the screen glides open. The interior design also hides the presence of storage compartments, which all glide open and use bright shades for interior lighting. The strikethrough pattern is put to good effect here in concealing these elements, including a sound bar, and also creates a unique and interesting art deco vibe inside.

New Jaguar EV platform and launch details

The production car will debut a new underpinning called Jaguar Electric Architecture (JEA). So far, not much has been revealed about it other than a targeted range of 770km on the WLTP cycle and the ability to charge for a 321km driving range in 15 minutes.

While it has been confirmed that Tata Motors will use JLR’s Electrified Modular Architecture (EMA) for its higher-end Avinya range of cars, the JEA platform will “only be used for vehicles designed, engineered and built in the UK”, says Glover, adding that currently “there are no plans of doing that [Tata Motors using the platform]”.

The production car is all set for a launch towards the end of 2025 and will roll out to markets in a phased manner. The first phase would cover countries such as the UK and the US, where the brand does very well. India would fall in phase two, which would be towards the end of 2026 or early 2027. Prices for the car have not been revealed, but Jaguar says the 4-door GT would be at the high end of the spectrum and will move Jaguar further upwards and away from the “mass premium” space. However, Glover says there will be cars that will follow and “will perform to a different role and target a wider audience”, thus alluding to other body styles and a top-down approach to building the new Jaguar.

While much noise was created over the teaser campaign’s lack of cars and colour choices, the actual concept car finally gives everyone an idea of where the products are headed. The car has an arresting presence and looks very striking indeed, if not a traditional Jaguar. As Glover says, “Type 00 is a signal of intent that Jaguar is changing”. Whether the prospective buyers warm up to this change is finally what the fate of the new Jaguar rests upon.

Also see:

Jaguar J-Pace SUV images surface three years after it was cancelled