The day has finally arrived. Jaguar began its long road to electric reinvention in November 2024 with a firestorm of a rebrand featuring no cars. Just a month later, it revealed a prototype: the Type 00—a car so polarizing it practically broke the internet’s automotive enclave. Some loved it; others hated it so much that Jaguar’s own staff were targeted for supposedly betraying the company’s 90-year history.
Since this chaotic but undoubtedly viral launch, major departures have followed, including Jaguar Land Rover’s (JLR) chief creative officer Gerry McGovern, the notable car designer who signed off on Jaguar’s divisive all-electric design and the no-car ad campaign. Jaguar’s managing director, Rawdon Glover, is a brave man. Through this shitstorm, and a frighteningly long period of selling no new cars whatsoever, he’s remained unflappable; utterly confident that, when people see the final car—the finished version of the luxury four-door GT that is “like no other”—everything will make sense. That moment is here. The company finally revealed the Jaguar Type 01 at an event in New York City on Tuesday—the finished version of the Type 00. (Jaguar Land Rover paid a portion of WIRED's travel expenses so we could attend the launch.)
A bold grand tourer that never arrives unnoticed, like all the best Jaguars of the past,” Jaguar’s press material says. This is most certainly true: you will see this thing coming. The low roofline, short front and extended rear overhangs, long hood, and huge 23-inch wheels all remain from the prototype, just as promised. The cab-rear design hides a 50–50 weight distribution, and the huge surfaces make it hard to square the fact that this is the most aerodynamic Jag ever, with active vanes, a deployable spoiler, and airflow trickery delivering a drag coefficient of 0.23 Cd.
Crucially, the production model’s extra doors make more sense of the design, shifting the Type 01’s look away from Thunderbirds territory to more familiar ground. The front has been softened ever so slightly as well, which again is preferable to the prototype’s exceedingly bluff nose. The rear, however, is where the exterior design really shines with hidden-until-lit, full-width lights embedded in horizontal strikethroughs. Inside, a dramatic central spine runs the full length of the cabin, creating a zone for each occupant. Lots of “brass-inspired” finishes are intended to underline the luxury message. A panoramic glass roof with adjustable virtual blinds brings in the light, but there’s no rear windscreen. Instead, a digital “ClearSight” rearview display is embedded centrally in the full-width panoramic soundbar at the base of the windscreen to show what’s behind. Cleverly, the feed from this rear-facing camera is positioned at the same height as the door mirrors, supposedly reducing the annoying focal adjustment these systems usually demand.
