Jaguar Type 00: the English manufacturer's gamble
Jaguar finally unveils its Type 00 concept car which presents the brand's new style language. ©Jaguar
Jaguar went from a moribund brand that no one talked about anymore to the brand that everyone is talking about, even beyond the automotive world. Certainly, in some aspects, it looks more like “bad buzz”, as we saw with the recent campaign presenting the new logobut it is entirely voluntary and, in this sense, successful.
But finished talking about its new logo and the very colorful fashion parade accompanying it, let's move on to the first concept car of the new Jaguar era, the Type 00, just as dapper.
A divisive strategy
Type 00 (pronounced “zero zero”) is a reference to Jag's iconic E-Type and the recently discontinued F-Type while the two zeros refer to the lack of tailpipe emissions and its zero car status in the manufacturer's reinvented range.
On the technical sheet side, the information is minimal and we only know that it targets a WLTP range of 770 km and is capable of recharging 321 km in 15 minutes. But the numbers are not important, this concept, unveiled at Miami Art Week, aims to lift the veil on the design language of the next generation of Jaguar and familiarize us with the idea that Jaguar is a real brand luxury and no longer an ordinary high-end brand like BMW or Mercedes.
The style of the front panel, very massive, is particularly divisive. ©Jaguar
Jaguar now displays its ambition not to copy anything, and therefore to invent everything, via its slogan “copy nothing“, however, this very long two-door coupe, resolutely modern, reminds us of the E-Type and F-Type with its very long hood, the rear-set passenger compartment and the generously curved rear fenders and its sloping roof. This profile is of elsewhere particularly successful and reminiscent of Rolls Royce with its very high body line and horizontal lines.
The front face will be less unanimous with this closed grille with hypertrophied slats doing without the famous logo to put an ordinary “Jaguar” lettering, as all brands currently do… “copy nothing“, Really ?
The back is very…industrial. The wide wings are separated by another rectangle filled with horizontal slats whose inspiration seems to come directly from industrial ventilation grilles. And as expected, the Type 00 has no rear window.
The rear seems taken from the industrial environment with this large ventilation grille. ©Jaguar
The gold trim in front of the door hides retractable cameras to help with parking and is made of brass, a rare automotive material found inside.
A minimalist interior
Do you remember the old-fashioned charm of Jaguars, smelling of full-grain leather and displaying large inserts in noble wood? That's for the past, modern Jaguars will feature textile and stone, if they follow the lead of this concept, in addition to the aforementioned brass. The latter is found on the steering wheel and on a 3.2 meter spine which runs the entire length of the passenger compartment.
Indispensable elements of modern cars, no screen appears in this Jaguar Type 00. According to the manufacturer, they are hidden in the dashboard and appear on demand. Drivers can change its appearance as well as choose ambient lighting.
The interior is very minimalist, with no visible screen and a long brass spine running through the entire cabin. ©Jaguar
The production sedan that will result from this concept should retain the main lines but get rid of the huge 23-inch rims, the brass spine and constantly display an instrument cluster.
Jaguar does not want to copy anyone and become a true luxury and niche brand, not aimed at everyone and it is an understatement to say that the idea is put into practice. It remains to be seen whether this direction will succeed.
