Jaguar Type 01 Officially RevealedJaguarIf there is anything certain in our tumultuous automotive world, it is that upon seeing the newly revealed Jaguar Type 01, you will have an opinion. Likely a strong one. Please note that if any of these thoughts are voiced, it's officially "Type Zero One" and not "Type Oh One." There are other interesting aspects of the car that are meant to re-launch the British brand that go beyond its divisive exterior styling. Although, as an electric luxury sedan, many of those attributes are likely to be similarly contentious.In person, the Type 01—revealed Tuesday evening in New York—is an imposing car. In person, the proportions are more elegant than the current crop of provided photos. It looks huge, but lower and more dramatic than the camera shows. Jon Darlington, the Type 01's chief engineer, points out that the nearly three feet in length from the front wheel center line to the driver's foot is 17 percent of the total length, which coincidentally is the same ratio on the E-Type.JaguarCurrent design chief Andrew Wheel says that the new car is "The truest expression of Jaguar, in the context of today." If you're still reeling from the E-Type comparison, Wheel will be the first to point out that the E-Type's successor was both a clean break from tradition and a design that maintained classic proportions. In the October 1975 issue of Road & Track, this institution called the XJ-S "a surprising break from tradition," and said that "It is, for better or for worse, an XJ-12 with a new body of decidedly questionable style." The story goes on to note things like the large investment in the new car, courting new demographics, and too many other direct parallels to the Type 01 than there is room to mention in this article.THE BIGGEST CATEven in the context of today, the Type 01 is large. The overall length of 206.1 inches is only 2.7 inches shorter than the Mercedes-Benz S-Class, but the Jaguar's roof is 4 inches shorter. The kind way to explain the way the Type 01 looks in person is that it has presence. There is drama in the sheetmetal, especially at the C-pillar where three creases converge and the draw from the fender to the base of the roofline is so deep that Jaguar dubbed it "the impossible panel," which requires six stamping steps on a 2500-ton press to form into shape.It is also impossible to see rearward in the Type 01 without the aid of a camera, as there is no rear window. The glassless fastback is still jarring, but less so now that the glass roof isn't covered by camouflage and offers some visual contrast to the acres of painted surfaces. Across the back, horizontal slats break up the monotony and hide the rear lights, with the black plastic bezel for a rear camera breaking up an otherwise interesting exercise in surface treatment. In front, similar raised lines act as a reference icon to a nonexistent grille. Instead, the Type 01 gets all its air through active shutters in the lower fascia. Wheel, pointing out the slim headlights, notes that "They're high, to give it a proud, confident look to the front of the car, and then they go right to the edges to emphasize the width."Having seen the Type 01 both fully wrapped in a complicated black and white pattern and in several different paint colors during Jaguar's pre-reveal media briefing at its headquarters in Gaydon, my personal opinion is that the Type 01 strikes the right balance between different and weird. It's unforgettable, and those types of designs usually last longer than more conventional, traditional shapes. Jaguar also deserves some credit for leaning into the hugeness with the Type 01's Brutalist angular shape compared to the softer curves of the Ferrari Luce.JaguarIt's unfortunate, though, that the Jaguar's surfaces and creases will mostly be rendered in a so-called "German rainbow" of paint colors with the exception of the "Chromatic Moments" 60-unit limited edition in satin-finished French Ultramarine or London Red. The rest of the palette consists of white, silver, grey, black, two shades of greyish-blue, and a "Mermerizing Copper" drab brown. As of the reveal, there is no British Racing Green, no blues in navy or lighter hues, let alone more whimsical paint colors like orange or violet.In any case, final judgement will have to be reserved for after the static preview, as Glover referred to an assertion by Jaguar co-founder William Lyons that, "to understand the design of any vehicle, you have to see it moving." Which will be around or before mid-2027 when first deliveries occur.JaguarOKAY HOW SMALL IS THE INTERIOR?Time to get this out of the way. Yes, the Type 01 is small inside. Such that describing it as a four-door 2+2 isn't far off. In front, the passenger seat has slightly less legroom than the driver's side, but neither are lacking for my 5-foot-9-inch stature. Sitting behind my own driving position left ample space for my knees in the rear as well. Such was not the case for a 6-foot-3-inch tall journalist at the briefing, who reported that both front and rear were tight.Similar to their spin on exterior styling, Jaguar's representatives seem at peace with the Type 01's compact interior. Glover notes that customers in the Type 01's roughly $130,500 starting point primarily consider things like style and brand image when choosing a car. The price also suggests a customer demographic that can afford at least one other, roomier car in their garage.Which is good, because getting in and out of the Type 01's back seat should not be a regular practice. Once inside, you're sitting aft of the door opening, behind the body structure. Ingress requires a combination of twisting and ducking, and getting out, I caught my shoulder on the interior trim twice.SMALL BUT NICELY FORMEDErgonomic challenges aside, the Type 01's interior looks impressively modern and minimalist. The view from the driver's seat features the 24-inch instrument screen in front of the oval steering wheel, with the rearview camera screen just above in terms of line of sight. That rearview screen is also in the same horizontal plane as the side mirrors. For U.S.-market cars, however, the Type 01 will also come with a vestigial rearview mirror mounted at the top of the low windshield, as regulations require a reflective surface. If nothing else this is a side-hustle opportunity for Jaguar service technicians who might unofficially remove the mirror for a palmed Benjamin.JaguarA soundbar containing 13 of the audio system's 25 speakers also sits at the base of the windshield. Placement up there allows for immersive sound and avoids some auditory challenges that come with mounting speakers in the front doors. The strakes on the dash top mimic those at the base of the windshield on the outside of the car, and the flat surface is incredibly effective at reflecting all of it into the windshield, at least in a studio setting.The 7.0-inch center screen for front occupants to control cabin settings like temperature, lighting, and dimming of the glass roof sits on the focal point of the Type 01's interior, a central spine with accent stripes that acts as a reminder of the length of the car while you're inside. It also cleverly hides stowage, cup holders, rear-seat HVAC vents, and a second screen for those in the back.There are also some unconventional approaches to trim. The floor material, a felted wool-like material, wraps upward on the center console and door sills. Both the traditional cow-based leather and a vegan alternative seat surfaces, accented with textile fabrics on the sides, have minimal cut lines and maximum spans of material. It makes for a visually clean appearance that intentionally looks more like a designer chair than an automotive bucket.JaguarThree different color themes will be available at the start, two in lighter white and grey tones plus a darker interior treatment. At some point, greater levels of personalization will be offered according to Glover, but at launch Jaguar is keeping things simple as it ramps up production on the clean-sheet design.Behind the seats and under the rear hatch lies the cargo area, which Jaguar says holds up to 35 cubic feet of gear. The rear seats tilt forward slightly to increase the cargo length, and there's a deeper cargo area under the floor just in front of the bumper. This is one of the few places where the Type 01 exhibits non-luxury characteristics, as the floor is hard plastic with raised ridges instead of trimmed in fabric. Surely some extra upholstery wouldn't add too much to the 5950-pound curb weight.JaguarDON'T FORGET IT'S A 1015-HP EVWhile most of the Type 01's unveiling is understandably focused on the appearance, some of the car's specifications have moved from estimates to more concrete numbers. First and foremost is the fact that the Type 01 rides on its own structural architecture, independent from corporate stablemate Land Rover's current or future efforts. JEA, or Jaguar Electrical Architecture, will underpin two other vehicles yet to be announced, and all three will only be powered by batteries and motors. "A platform decision is a long-term decision," says Glover, and over time "electrification will become the dominant power trend."Many of these details were outlined in both our ride-along and ice drive previews in Type 01 prototypes. The key figures are a prismatic cell battery pack with 120 kWh of usable capacity from the nickel-heavy NMC chemistry. That's good for more than 400 miles on the EPA five-cycle test, pending certification. Hardware integration manager Andrew Ellis says that Jaguar intentionally picked the harder range test because "It's a much closer representation to what our customers were actually using after in the real world, making sure that we put in our brochures matches what customers receive."When charging the 850-volt pack, Jaguar says as much as 200 miles can be restored in 13 minutes. Perhaps more practical is that the charging electronics can effectively split the battery into two 400-volt packs, which will enable up to 250-kW charging on a 400-volt fast charger, like many of Tesla's Supercharger stations.The Type 01 features two massive charging doors on each side. In all markets, the fast charger sits on the right, while both sides can charge on AC power at up to 22 kW. In North America, that right side will use a Tesla-style NACS port while the right is the older SAE J1772 plug. Trading the inconvenience of using an adapter for Level 2 (240V) charging for the inconvenience of making sure you're lined up on the correct side, then.JaguarWhat was once "more than 1000 hp" is now an official output of 1015 hp and 1007 pound-feet of torque from the tri-motor configuration. That will enable 0 to 60 runs in the three-second range, but in terms of gearing and power delivery, the Type 01 is optimized for higher-speed acceleration. The move from 62 to 112 miles per hour takes just four seconds, and is meant to reinforce the brand values of having power in reserve.THE WAITING BEGINSWith the car now revealed, Jaguar has also opened the books to accept pre-orders from interested customers. But anybody wishing to kick the tires will have to wait until next year when full production is finally underway. It will also be around that time when we'll get to finally determine if the driving experience lives up to the promising signs from pre-production encounters.If You Can Only Own One Car, Make It One of TheseThese Are the Most Popular Cars by State
