Jaguar’s “fearless” rebrand split public opinion and angered car enthusiasts worldwide. It polarized an industry and shocked consumers. But could it be the masterstroke of the decade? We’ll have to wait to find out. Until then, meet the Type 00 . . .
At the end of last year, you might have been asking yourself what had happened to Jaguar. I say might in case you missed the news, but I rather believe I’d be hard pushed to find anybody that hadn’t seen, heard or felt the outrage that swept the motoring community when the British car manufacturer wiped the slate. It removed all its existing models from sale. And came back with this: the Jaguar Type 00.
It sparked quite the passionate reaction, particularly by those in Great Britain. After all, this is a British brand with a motoring heritage stretching as far back as 1935. One that owners and fans alike admired, adored, protected—and felt fiercely patriotic about. It is the brand responsible for the world’s first disc brake and the gorgeous XKSS (owned by Steve McQueen, no less)—a road-going version of the Le Mans winning Jaguar D-Type race car. And then later, the beautiful and iconic E-Type and the XJ220, at the time the world’s fastest production car. It is a brand with motorsport seemingly in its DNA, having competed in Le Mans, Spa 24 Hours and even Formula 1. Or, perhaps, so it was.
All of this, gone. Overnight. This is how it felt to car enthusiasts not only in Britain, but across the world. First, a relaunch trailer that featured no cars at all, but a lot of pink and a promise to “copy nothing.” Then, the Jaguar Type 00—an all-electric two-door coupe with no back window, brash, angular lines and a rear more akin to an industrial cooling unit. It was probably the most polarizing rebrand this decade. To add insult to injury, Jaguar then described it as “a fearless statement” and “an object of desire.”
Therein lies the issue. Before the Type 00, despite its heritage and many passionate fans, Jaguar was slowly getting left behind. Nobody cared, nobody really bought. But now that the dust has settled, we can really start to dissect what Jaguar is trying to do.
So—is it all that bad? For starters, the Jaguar Type 00 is a concept car that will never actually meet the asphalt. It is merely a manifestation of Jaguar’s new creative philosophy, which it calls “Exuberant Modernism” that will “inspire” future Jaguars. Fearless in the vehicles it creates, future-facing and curious about the world and compelling and meaningful to its clients. And you can see the marks of its ancestors in its side profile—the long bonnet, the sweeping roofline—maybe reminiscent of models like the E-Type and F-Type. Though also perhaps a painful reminder to petrolheads that nothing now lies under the hood.
The concept features lots of flush surfaces, clinically futuristic headlights and rear-facing cameras that theoretically deploy from behind hand-finished brass ingots etched with the Jaguar “leaper.” Hidden until needed. Interesting. Butterfly doors add a touch of drama (as if any more is needed at this stage). Inside lies an ultra-minimalist interior, split by a 3.2m brass spine running the length of the car, while driver and passenger both get a floating instrument panel. There’s “soothing travertine stone.” Woven textiles and tactile wool. Subtle patterns thrown onto the materials inside by the cabin’s body-harmonized glazed roof. And all of this in two exterior colors—Miami Pink or London Blue.
But the Type 00 (pronounced “Zero Zero”) is but a prelude. The first new-gen production Jaguar will actually be a four-door GT, targeting a driving range of up to 478 miles on a single charge. It’ll charge quickly enough to get 200 miles back in just 15 minutes, Jaguar says. A car of this size will probably get over 500bhp but it’s not yet been confirmed, and you can expect the sort of high-end pricing to match. So this concept car is really just a loud statement created to get eyebrows raising. People talking. To its credit, it certainly got the entire industry talking about Jaguar for the first time in a long time. But you know how it is . . . concept cars rarely appear in their artistic form. Will this time be different?
Jaguar was definitely “fearless.” Its original founder, Sir William Lyons, believed Jaguar should be a “copy of nothing” and that its cars should be considered artforms. You can definitely see the why behind the what, with the Jaguar Type 00. Will this new path reinvent the brand? I hope so. I hope it’s better than before. More relevant. And more popular. For great heritage never really dies—it becomes part of the story.
Jaguarusa.com