Jaguar confirmed plans to reveal its new Type 01 grand touring vehicle during a launch event in New York in October. The $150,000 all-electric model is more than just the most important Jaguar in decades. It could determine whether the brand has any future, reports Headlight.com.
The production version of Jaguar’s controversial battery-electric vehicle will make its debut in New York in October.
Dubbed the Type 01, the grand touring vehicle has been described as Jaguar’s most important new product in decades, though some insiders admit that understates the significance of the Type 01 which marks a dramatic shift in direction for the storied British marque. It launches Jaguar’s transition to an all-electric brand – a move coming at a time when other high-line brands, such as Maserati and Lamborghini, are rethinking their electrification programs.
The planned debut will come about two year after the automaker raised a global ruckus with the controversial reveal of the prototype Type 00. Speaking at the company’s annual Investor Day program on Tuesday, Leonard Hoornik, the Jaguar Land Rover chief commercial officer, said of the production model, “We will launch it… in a very, very special way,” though he declined to offer specific details.
What’s new
Jaguar announced plans to go all-electric Reimagine brand strategy in 2021. It gave a strong hint of what’s to come last year with the highly controversial Type 00. Specific details weren’t revealed at the time, though the automaker said it would be an EV.
An updated concept was shown a month ago and, on Tuesday, company officials revealed plans to formally show the production model in New York City in October. Hard details are yet to be confirmed. For one thing, parent JLR is bowing to market realities and is developing alternative drivetrains, such as hybrid and extended-range packages. It’s uncertain whether such technologies will be offered on the Type 01.
But it will be launched solely in all-electric form, the company’s CEO PB Balaji telling investors on Tuesday that “the kind of performance attributes we want Jaguar to perform against can (only) be delivered only through an electric drivetrain.”
The package won’t come cheap, Type 01 expected to start at around $150,000 in its primary market, the United States.
Powertrain
The numbers he’s talking about are expected to exceed 1,000 horsepower.
A media colleague who recently had a chance to join a small group driving a Type 01 prototype said he questioned the automaker’s decision to retain the contentious design language first seen with the Type 00 concept. But he quickly added that the grand tourer’s powertrain was “absolutely” what Jaguar needs to deliver with blinding fast acceleration – as well as the handling that the brand had long been known for.
“I’ll put it this way: the car was an absolute surprise,” said Nik Miles, of Our Auto Expert. “I came away realizing that Jaguar has captured something….it genuinely embodies the spirit of the original XJ from the 1960. There are even hints of the E-Type.”
The question is whether buyers will get past the design, he added, but once behind the wheel, he believes, they will be won over.
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If Jaguar builds it, will they come?
Jaguar’s concept, the Type 00, generated plenty of controversy with its edgy design and initial marketing effort.
How much of a market there is for all-electric Jaguars remains to be seen – though other manufacturers in the performance luxury segment have been rejigging plans, delaying or even canceling EV projects. In Jaguar’s case the company has confirmed it’s revising the EMA platform set to underpin Type 01, as well as a variety of other Jaguar and Land Rover products. Models like the Range Rover Evoque and Velar are expected to offer hybridized options, as well.
JLR has made a number of zigs and zags of late, a procession of senior executives have left the company in recent months, most recently including long-time CEO Joe Eberhardt.
One of the more surprising moves was the announcement that JLR is partnering with Stellantis on some future products. The next-generation Defender, for one, will make extensive use of Jeep off-road technology.
Type-cast
Jaguar has had plenty of ups-and-downs since the era of the iconic E-Type.
Jaguar’s decision to go with the Type 01 moniker draws from the brand’s iconic past. It reflects such motorsports and production models like the C-Type and D-Type racers that dominated the endurance circuit for a number of years, starting with victory at Le Mans in 1951. While the brand’s most distinctive model was known to many as the XKE, it was more formally badged E-Type.
The second half of the new EV’s badge reflects the “0” emissions of an EV, while the “1” “denotes its status as the first Jaguar of a new era,” the company has explained.
Type 01 will reposition Jaguar away from the mainstream luxury segment it has most recently been competing in. Rather than going up against the likes of Audi, Lexus and BMW, it will more directly target ultra-exotics such as Bentley and Aston Martin, carrying a starting price of around $150,000, while fully loaded version are expected to approach $200,000.
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