Jaguar follows controversial brand relaunch with butterfly wing-doored, stone-clad concept car called Type 00
'Embodies the essence of Exuberant Modernism'
Jaguar has revealed a new concept car that embodies its recent — and highly controversial — brand strategy, ahead of a new range of luxury production electric vehicles (EVs) due from 2026.
On show to the public from today at Miami Art Week, the Type 00 — pronounced Type Zero Zero — isn’t intended to make it to showrooms; it’s instead a four-wheeled showcase of Jaguar’s new “exuberant modernism” creative philosophy, and the “foundation stone for a new family of Jaguars”.
The company also says the Type 00 is designed to recapture Sir William Lyons’ original mantra that Jaguars should be a “copy of nothing”. Its name references both its zero emissions powertrain and the idea that it’s the starting point for a new series of vehicles from the company.
Many of the Type 00’s wilder features are unlikely to make it to production but there are clues as to what to expect from the initial three-car range that is planned to be with us by the end of the decade.
The cab-rearward layout, for example, with passengers positioned behind a long bonnet — unusual for an EV, as they do without a large engine — is also clearly evident on the camouflaged four-door grand tourer spotted testing recently.
The flush surfaces and slab-fronted nose, with its distinctive strikethrough pattern grille, and Jaguar wordmark, are also odds-on to be carried over to future road cars, along with the new “j and r” monogram badges on the wheel hubs, and the Jaguar “Leaper” motif laser-etched within the “brass ingot” panels on the front wings.
Brass is one of the core materials chosen by the designers to highlight the “grounded nature” of the Type 00; as it ages the metal takes on a natural rose colour due to oxidisation. Jaguar’s materials chief was also keen to point out that brass is a metal commonly used in jewellery making.
There’s a high-tech element to the brass ingots, too, in that they flip out to reveal rear-view cameras for reversing. As with the charging ports and front air intakes, they are hidden away until needed.
It’s possible that the fastback rear end will feature on the production cars, too, perhaps even with what Jaguar has labelled “body harmonised glazing”; a rear window that includes another use of Jag’s strikethrough to make the roofline appear solid from the rear. The rear strikethrough also contains full-width taillights.
The strikethrough motif can also be found on the top of the bonnet, and continuing inside on the top of the dashboard in an effort to “blur the boundary between the exterior and interior”.
“Jaguar is no place for ordinary,” said chief exterior designer Constantino Segui Gilabert. “When you see a new Jaguar for the first time, it must have a sense of awe, of never having been seen before. Type 00 commands attention, like all the best Jaguars of the past. It is a dramatic presence, channelling a unique spirit of British creativity and originality. It celebrates art and embodies the essence of Exuberant Modernism.”
The cockpit of the Type 00 is accessed by dramatic butterfly wing doors — a feature we’d be surprised to see making it to production. It would also be quite bold of Jaguar to include in its forthcoming road cars some of the materials on display inside the Type 00, notably more brass elements and the use of stone.
Three hand-finished brass trim elements are used on the inside of the window lines and down the centre of the concept car, the latter “spine” running a full 3.2m through the vehicle.
Beneath the floating spine is a central “plinth” made of travertine — a type of limestone formed around hot springs — which adds a further natural element to the cabin. Jaguar’s chief materiality designer said such stone can be added in veneer form, rather than in solid lumps, which reduces weight, though whether we’ll see it employed in production vehicles remains to be seen.
A pair of digital displays deploy from the dashboard, in front of the driver and passenger, when needed but can just as easily be hidden away. Jaguar says it is keen to offer its customers a “digital detox” when inside its new cars.
To this end, the Type 00 also features what Jaguar calls its “Prism”. This carry case contain three “totems” — rectangular cuboids made of brass, travertine or alabaster — that can be removed and slotted into a holder hidden under a panel in the central spine.
Each one automatically changes a number of settings, including the lighting, soundscape and screens, to suit the occupants’ mood, and thus takes away the need for interaction with a touchscreen to do so. The Prism has its own hidden storage area in the front wing, above the brass ingots.
“Type 00 is a pure expression of Jaguar’s new creative philosophy,” said Professor Gerry McGovern OBE, JLR’s chief creative officier. “It has an unmistakeable presence.
“This is the result of brave, unconstrained creative thinking, and unwavering determination. It is our first physical manifestation and the foundation stone for a new family of Jaguars that will look unlike anything you’ve ever seen. A vision which strives for the highest level of artistic endeavour.”
A pair of Jaguar Type 00s are making their debut today at Miami Art Week, which Jaguar points out echoes the two-car debut of the Jaguar E-type at the 1961 Geneva Motor Show.
The new design visions are presented in “Miami Pink” — officially “Satin Rhodon Rose” — which is inspired by the rose colour of aged brass, and “London Blue”, a colour derived from the Opalescent Silver Blue of the 1960s and chosen to reflect the carmaker’s British heritage.
Jaguar’s managing director, Rawdon Glover, said: “We have forged a fearlessly creative new character for Jaguar that is true to the DNA of the brand but future facing, relevant and one that really stands out.”
Jaguar’s first new-generation electric vehicle, the four-door GT, is expected to have a range between charges of up to 478 miles (on the official WLTP cycle — it will likely be less in the real world) and ultra-rapid charging capability that can add 200 miles in as little as 15 minutes, depending on the speed of the charger.
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- Also check out Jaguar’s production car future with pictures of the four-door grand tourer testing on-road in camouflage
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