Jaguar’s Radical New EV Finally Has A Name, And It’s Not What We Expected

• Jaguar’s next-generation luxury electric grand tourer has a name.
• The concept was named Type 00, and the production version will just turn the counter up by one.
• The company says the name denotes the model’s status as the first Jaguar of a new era.

Jaguar finally has a name for the production version of its all-new, supposedly game-changing electric four-door grand tourer. And while the British marque only describes its next-generation EVs in superlatives, the name chosen for the road-going version people will actually be able to buy is a little underwhelming.

It’s called the Jaguar Type 01. That’s one up from the concept’s Type 00 designation, which is logical, but it’s the type of name that even Jaguar thought needed explaining.

Photo by: Jaguar

“We have reimagined Jaguar for a new era, with inspiration from what has gone before,” said Rawdon Glover, the automaker’s managing director. “Our engineers have achieved this with a vehicle that looks and drives like no other electric car, yet reflects a unique provenance. The Type 01 name is part of that story – for me, the zero also signifies a complete brand reset, and the ‘1’, our first car for a new chapter, a ‘one of a kind!’”

Jaguar has a long history of using the “Type” naming in its cars, harking back to the Le Mans-winning C-Type of 1951. More recently, the F-Type carried the same core, and the car that put Jaguar on the map—the legendary E-Type—followed the same direction.

Whether you like the name or not, there’s no denying that the British brand poured everything into this car. It stopped manufacturing all of its previous models and focused solely on this four-door super-GT. It also provoked countless comments with its unconventional rebranding campaign, but when it comes to engineering, the company seems to have nailed it.

43

Source: Jaguar

After early prototype drives, the Type 01 was described by car journalists as being sure-footed, composed, and—most importantly—feeling like a Jaguar. With a tri-motor powertrain capable of delivering around 1,000 horsepower and 959 pound-feet (1,300 Newton-meters) of torque, it will be plenty quick, too. 

Unlike other EVs that have a huge battery pack in the floor, Jaguar split the battery into multiple pieces, placing them in the front and rear of the body, which allowed it to lower the seat position and shave some inches off the total height of the sedan.

The first Jaguar Type 01 prototypes will make an appearance on the streets of Monaco during the Formula E race weekend, but it’s unclear if these are near-production-ready cars or the same Type 00 development units. The final version of the EV, sans camouflage, will be revealed later this year.