Jaguar Unveils Type 01 Electric GT, Its First New Car in Nearly Two Years

Jaguar says the Type 01 produces more than 1,000 hp. Its tri-motor all-wheel-drive system has a maximum output of 1,030PS and accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.2 seconds. A 118kWh usable battery and 850V architecture give an official WLTP range estimate of up to 720 km.

The Type 01 bears little resemblance to past Jaguars, including in its badge. Jaguar has introduced a new brand identity: the most important "jaguar" element is absent from the front badge, where a new wordmark takes center stage, while the familiar leaping jaguar remains on brass-colored trim on the front fenders. The car's design is bold and aggressive, with sharp angles, a horizontal grille pattern, slim lights, a squared-off rear and 23-inch wheels.

According to Jaguar, the long-hood proportion comes from the E-type. The distance from the front axle center to the front door is 898mm, about 17% of the vehicle's length, close to classic models and linking the E-type and XJS in the family narrative. To make the car lower and longer, engineers created a dedicated JEA architecture; Jaguar says a conventional EV platform would have required raising the roof by about 200mm. On the side, two single-piece stamped aluminum outer panels, each about 3 meters long, run from the roofline past the rear wheel arch to the tail. The panel has five different planes; sharp angles and complex folds increase the risk of cracking during stamping, so Jaguar calls it the "impossible panel." The team spent more than 1,500 hours refining the stamping process, which requires 2,500 tonnes of pressure and six cold-forming steps. Jaguar says the panel is not only for show: it creates a high-pressure zone at the rear, producing about 4kg of positive thrust at about 140 km/h, and allows the frameless doors to sit flush against the body without visible trim.

The Type 01 has no rear window. According to Top Gear, designers originally wanted a long enough glass roof, but after adding rear crash structure and a tapered tail, the remaining rear window was very narrow, so Jaguar removed it and left a fully enclosed tailgate. Rear visibility is handled by the ClearSight digital rear-view system, which uses a rear camera instead of a traditional mirror, with the display below the windshield.

The interior is more conventional than the exterior. The front cabin has simple lines, with the dashboard, screens and seats organized along clear horizontal and vertical lines; light-colored trim makes it softer. A central spine runs from front to rear, dividing the cabin into four separate seating zones. Cup holders, storage, air vents and front and rear control screens are concentrated on this spine. Front seats offer heating, ventilation and hot-stone massage; rear seats also have heating and ventilation and support 50:50 folding. The panoramic glass roof's shading can be switched to adjust light. But as a 5.2-meter-long car, the Type 01's rear space is not generous. Jaguar describes it as a "four-door 2+2," a term more common for two-door four-seat GTs, with the front seats as the focus and the rear for occasional use. MotorTrend, Car and Driver and other outlets said tall passengers are uncomfortable in the rear, with tight headroom and knee room.

Top Gear noted that the earlier Type 00 concept was actually derived from the Type 01. The production car's exterior was frozen in 2021, and the more extreme concept was then created from it as a preview of the new Jaguar. In other words, Jaguar had already decided to part ways with its past before the concept car drew criticism.

The launch comes as Jaguar's old products and design have lost buyers. The brand has not introduced any new car for two years. In the United States, Jaguar's annual sales fell from nearly 40,000 in 2017 to just over 1,000 in 2025. In China, its 2025 retail sales were about 14,000, and in the first quarter of this year, only about 20 Jaguar XELs were sold nationwide, according to Ifanr. Jaguar had tried to boost sales by expanding its lineup across sedans, sports cars, SUVs and EVs, but the results were not good. Within JLR, Jaguar now has a new role. At the launch, the group made clear that its other brands will continue to offer gasoline, hybrid and electric powertrains, while Jaguar remains fully electric, covering luxury segments outside the group's other brands. Range Rover, Defender and Discovery can continue to serve existing customers; Jaguar is starting over to find new buyers. That explains why it is willing to make the exterior so unfamiliar. Jaguar's target is not its old customer base but more avant-garde, newly wealthy buyers who care more about cutting-edge design and status symbols than family space. The Type 01 is its first attempt.