Jaguar unveiled the Type 01 all-electric four-door luxury vehicle at a world premiere event in New York City - REUTERS/Mike SegarThe long-awaited new Jaguar has just been launched. At least, I think it has. It could be a Jaguar – it could be anything.After the launch of that Barbie-pink Type 00 concept car was met with such howls of derision, you'd think that Jaguar's designers would have hurried in horror back to the drawing board and designed something more stylish and true to the brand.Jaguar's concept car launch in 2024 showed a bright pink electric vehicle was in the works - JaguarNot of a bit of it. The new Type 01 is distressingly similar to its much-mocked prototype. In some ways, it's even worse. At least the now-dropped pink was distinctive, unlike the fairly bog standard silver, grey, white or black in which the new car is offered.In those safe, unremarkable colours it could easily be a Tesla, a BMW or a high-end Hyundai. And for such an iconic marque as Jaguar, that is just wrong.Jaguar threw out the original pink for its first EV, opting instead for 'unremarkable' silver, grey, white and black - Reuters/Mike SegarWith the Type 01, the designers have squandered a glorious opportunity. They only had to look at the re-born electric Mini, Fiat 500 or Renault 5 and it's perfectly obvious what they should have done.People love the combination of a retro design with the latest technology and they'd have loved, more than any other new car in the world, a new fully electric Jaguar that clearly resembled one of the company's revered classic models.Design inspirationThe historic car on which it should have been based is the Jaguar Mark X (later badged 420G) which ruled the roads in the 1960s. The new Type 01 has been slated for being too big but the 420G was similarly XXL. Very few cars before or since have exuded such presence. If one of those turned up outside the snooker hall, you'd pay up.Jaguar should have been inspired by the design of its own Mark X, which was popular in the 1960s, writes Paul BurkeAnd yet it had that beauty, elegance and interior luxury for which the finest Jags have always been renowned. With the Type 001, Jaguar could have enjoyed all this and the new car's drivers could have enjoyed it even more.They only needed to re-design the body so it was a more aerodynamic, 21st-century 420G. Nothing else needed to change. 420G-ish dimensions would have comfortably accommodated the Type 01's phenomenal technology, its gargantuan battery, electric motor, wheels and tyres. As well as five people in the considerable space and luxury.Jaguar's designers 'missed a golden opportunity' to create a distinctive, elegant electric vehicle - JLR/PA WireInstead of which, they've lazily opted for the "Indistinct Futuristic Car" design and the world will never get to see what might have been. Looking at it, it's depressingly clear that Jaguar failed to learn the lessons of the disastrous unveiling of the concept car.Cheap, weak and 'woke'Too much attention was paid to the pink paintwork and the general view that the absurd launch film, with its gender-fluid characters, looked so cheap, weak and "woke". Jaguar therefore didn't seem to clock that this wasn't all we disliked. We didn't like the car and our minds are unlikely to be changed by a new paint job.The new Jaguar Type 01 seats four peopleThe best cars are a winning confluence of form and function but the Type 01, boxy and boring, is all function and no form. Previous Jaguars, such as the Mk2, the majestic 420G and of course the E-Type, inspired both awe and affection.I used to have a 1967 Mk2. Back in the 1980s, they were too old to be new and too new to be classic, so you could pick up a decent one for about £600 – so that's exactly what I did. Trouble was, it was slow, lumbering, surprisingly cramped inside, the steering was sloppy and changing gear was like stirring goulash. Since I wasn't even 20, I'd get pulled over by the police at least three times a week and told to open the boot to reveal my ill-gotten gains. And yet, I loved it more than any car I've ever owned. When I pointed that famous "Leaper" mascot on the end of its elegantly tapered bonnet towards the M1, I felt like Inspector Morse.And it's that feeling, that love, that pride, that priceless appreciation of heritage and beauty that only a proper Jag can inspire. Even one that only cost £600 and was sluggish, thirsty and less than reliable.The best of all possible worlds would have been a new Jaguar that looked and felt like a Jaguar but boasted opulence, state-of-the-art technology and lightning-fast acceleration.And this, I'm sad to say, is exactly what Jaguar has just thrown away.Try full access to The Telegraph free today. Unlock their award-winning website and essential news app, plus useful tools and expert guides for your money, health and holidays.