The advert, it seems universally agreed, isn’t very good. “Vapid”, according to the BBC’s Today programme. “I thought it was the Clangers,” Ian Hislop exclaimed on Have I Got News For You. Nigel Farage expects and indeed hopes that Jaguar will go bust as result of departing so egregiously from its Inspector Morse and real ale image.
What seemed to rile people most, though, was the fact that this was an advert by a car company that didn’t contain a car. Proclaiming a controversial rebrand without indicating that something of substance would be along in good time to back it up is the biggest mistake that’s been made here. Because in all other respects it’s job done: Jaguar has been a global talking point for the past fortnight. When was the last time any car maker managed that sort of coverage?
Here’s the thing. Jaguar sold 64,241 cars last year, compared to the 367,492 shifted by its Land Rover counterpart. If JLR’s grand vision had played out as intended, these two marques would both be shifting 300,000 units-plus annually by now. The days of Range Rover doing the profitable heavy lifting on its own are over. Jaguar has signalled its majestic plan to move upmarket, where the volumes are lower but the margins are fatter.
And here’s the car that will deliver on that, or at least a conceptual preview of it – the Type 00. First things first. Contrary to some of the hysterical nonsense spouted online, Jaguar isn’t completely refuting its heritage in some sort of diaphanous woke haze. When I attended a preview three weeks ago, images of the incomparable E-type were still part of the presentation, as indeed was repeated reference to founder Sir William Lyons’ mantra to “copy nothing”. The 00 points to this as year zero for the new design philosophy, and to the fact that it’s all-electric so it emits zero at the tail-pipe.
All of which pales into insignificance when you’re confronted with the car itself. It’s a huge pink super coupe that replaces the leonine curves and sinewy presence of an old-school Jaguar with the “look at me” egocentricity of a Tesla Cybertruck, except it’s much better executed than Elon Musk’s militaristic folly. It’s Miami pink, by the way, in honour of the car’s reveal at the start of Miami art week. It’s worth pointing out that a second car is finished in the more reassuring ‘London blue’. (Though still not reassuring enough, one imagines, for Nigel Farage.)
Says JLR’s Chief Creative Officer, Gerry McGovern, “Type 00 is a pure expression of Jaguar’s new creative philosophy. 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.”
Contrary to some of the hysterical nonsense spouted online, Jaguar isn’t completely refuting its heritage in some sort of diaphanous woke haze
He’s not wrong. Type 00 introduces a new design approach that boils down to two words: exuberant modernism. In the flesh, this is a truly eye-popping car. It’s more than five metres long and brutally bluff, especially when viewed head-on, that ill-received new logo looking more than a little lost. Elsewhere Type 00 uses a ‘strike-through’ graphic – a series of horizontal lines – that’s repeated on the area ahead of the windscreen, on the roof, and on the rear. There are full-width tail-lights hidden within, but what’s missing is a back window. Instead, there’s a ‘Clearsight’ camera inside where you’d usually find the rear-view mirror, the view behind relayed to it via cameras concealed behind a pair of brass ‘ingots’ on either side of the car.
JLR has been using this tech for years now, but the rest of the interior is pure sci-fi. Open those huge butterfly doors and you’ll find brass, travertine stone and sustainable textiles. Yep, stone. This element acts as a plinth that supports the seats and a central spine that separates the driver from the passenger. There’s a wool blend on the seats and across the sound bar. Natural materials are part of Jaguar’s efforts to tap into the UK’s deserved reputation for expert craftsmanship.
The instrument and infotainment screens slide in and out of view. The Type 00 has all the connectivity you’d expect but also aims to deliver a fashionable digital detox. Lift the “Prism” box out of its designated storage area in the side of the car and you’ll find a series of ‘Totems’, brass, travertine and alabaster, that slide into a receptacle in the centre console. Each of these alters the interior ambience, aroma and sound.
Interior and flamboyant doors aside, Jaguar is adamant that the Type 00’s extraordinary proportions are close to the real car. That’s due to be revealed a year from now and will be a £120,000-plus four-seat GT, most likely with rear-hinged doors such as you can find on various Rolls-Royces or the Ferrari Purosangue. A new platform underpins the all-electric Jaguar family, and the tech is said to deliver a range of up to 478 miles. Achieving that will necessitate a huge battery which in turn will mean that the car will be no featherweight. We shall see.
Open those huge butterfly doors and you’ll find brass, travertine stone and sustainable textiles. Yes, actual stone
As per the Farage-baiting social media campaign, Jaguar is also fundamentally rethinking how it reaches and deals with its customers. First, there will be a new digital eco-system. Where would we be without that? Although some traditional dealers will survive, think instead of curated experience centres. The first of these is due to open in Paris, in the heart of the 8th arrondissement’s fashion district. “EVs are not associated with luxury,” Jaguar’s MD Rawdon Glover tells me. “So it will be all about the brand, and about the design, inside and out. People aren’t choosing vehicles because of the powertrain, it’s about creating an emotional response. But it’s also about gravitas, which isn’t something that you pluck from thin air. It has to be built up from Jaguar’s history.”
So you see, it has taught them something after all.
