It may be the most controversial new product in recent automotive history and the success or failure of the all-electric Type 01 could determine the success – or failure – of the Jaguar brand. Headlight.News was on hand Tuesday night for the sports sedan’s New York debut.
The Jaguar Type 01 rolls down a Manhattan street ahead of its official debut.
Six years after Jaguar quietly determined it needed to completely transform its product line-up, and two years after the controversial Type 00 concept vehicle made its debut, the British automaker publicly revealed what will be its future during a well-attended event Tuesday night in Manhattan.
During its more than 90-year history, Jaguar has pushed the boundaries of car design on more than one occasion, starting with the iconic E-Type in 1961. But the Type 01 takes things to a new level. It’s not just the edgy design. It’s the fact that the sedan – along with all other Jaguar models to follow – will be battery-electric. Not hybrid. Not E-REV or PHEV. One hundred percent electric, the brand’s managing director, Rawdon Glover, confirmed during an interview with Headlight.News.
Adding to the shift in direction, Glover and his management team are set to move Jaguar further upmarket than ever before. The Type 01 will debut around $120,000 when it reaches U.S. showrooms next year and future products will go even higher.
The “essence of Jaguar”
The all-electric Jaguar Type 01.
By the time Type 01 goes into production in the coming months its entire manufacturing system will have been idled for about 18 months, the automaker choosing to divert resources to the development of the new model rather than continue producing dated models that were generating marginal sales, Glover explained, insisting it will be worth the wait.
“This is the very essence of what a Jaguar should be,” he proclaimed during a media background briefing hours before the official Type 01 unveiling. “It has to have drama. It has to have presence. And the proportions are everything.”
With its long “bonnet,” or hood, and windswept roof line, the Type 01 is anything but retro – though it subtly picks up on some of the design cues from Jaguar’s most iconic models, including the legendary E-Type sports car and original XJ sport sedan.
Design has always been a primary part of the Jaguar brand’s appeal. But whether that will matter more than what’s underneath the bonnet, in this case a 1,000-horsepower electric drive system, remains to be seen.
An “impossible” assignment
The Type 01 gets plenty of attention after its official NY debut. This image reveals the sedan’s “Impossible Panel.”
Type 01 honors key elements of Jaguar’s heritage. It is long and low, the arching roofline reaching no more than 1.4 meters, or 55.1 inches in height. That’s particularly significant considering the creative engineering required to place its passenger compartment atop a 120-kWh lithium-ion battery pack.
An initial concept, the Type 00, was launched in 2024, and followed with a minor update in mid-2025. It was done up in striking, if unorthodox colors and backed by an equally unusual marketing campaign that generated plenty of buzz, and more than a fair share of criticism. But Jaguar was betting that controversy would work in its favor, and get the eventual production model noticed once it finally came to market.
Type 01 doesn’t stray very far from the original prototype – and that created plenty of challenges, especially towards the back of the sport sedan where the design team called for a variety of curves and angles to come together. The automaker’s engineering software insisted there was no way to produce the all-aluminum body panel. But some creative problem solving – backed by thousands of hours of computer simulations – eventually pulled together what the company now refers to as the “Impossible Panel,” the vehicle’s single largest piece of sheet metal.
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Plenty of Muscle
Type 01’s three motors will produce a maximum combined 1,000 hp.
While Jaguars must first and foremost deliver an eye-catching design, company officials stressed Tuesday, the Type 01 also had to produce neck-snapping acceleration and refined, yet aggressive ride and handling. There’s certainly plenty of muscle, the sedan’s three electric motors delivering a combined 1,000 horsepower and about 1,007 pound-feet of torque. The EV is rear-biased, with two custom-designed motors driving the back axle. A third motor is mounted up front. We’ll have to wait for all the final specs, including 0 to 60 times, though Rawdon suggested Jaguar didn’t try to turn Type 01 into a muscle car, focused on 0-60 times. If anything, it’s quickest, he noted, once it hits 60.
There will be five separate driving modes, including “Jaguar Mode,” which provides the best balance between performance and comfort, Vehicle Engineering Director Matt Becker said in an interview. But the emphasis, reflecting the classic approach to performance will be on delivering most of the horsepower and torque through the rear wheels.
Type 01 is a technical showpiece, Becker stressed, with active aero features throughout the vehicle. That includes a three-stage pop-up rear wing, as well as four-wheel steering and the ability to vary power to each of the rear motors to help steer through corners, a process known as torque vectoring.
Battery Pack and Charging
Type 01’s battery pack.
The new Jaguar adopts an 850-volt electrical architecture. That helps deliver maximum performance with its big motors – and boosts charging, Becker said. Though full details have yet to be released, the company claims it can add 200 miles of additional range when plugged into a 350 kW public DC charger. In a peculiar move, Jaguar equipped Type 01 with two separate charger ports, mounted on the front left and right quarter panels. Owner can plug into a 240-volt Level 2 charger on either side, though only one can handle a Tesla-style NACS plug for quick charging.
Jaguar engineers are studying ways to allow for two-way, or Vehicle-to-Load, power. That could be used to provide power to external appliances or accessories, or even keep a home running in the even of a blackout, one official said. If that feature proves to be possible it may later be added using a smartphone-style over-the-air software update.
As for range, officials said they expect to deliver up to 400 miles from the 140-kWh pack. But Becker later told Headlight.News that is based on the global WLTP standard. He acknowledged the U.S. EPA results will likely be closer to 350 miles per charge once final certification is completed.
Interior Design
The Type 01 IP has a large touchscreen behind the steering wheel and a smaller, tablet-style touchscreen on the center console.
The new Jaguar’s cabin strikes a balance between traditional and high-tech luxury. There’s a large touchscreen running behind the steering wheel and extending to the middle of the instrument panel. A second smartphone-sized touchscreen is mounted at the forward end of the center console to handle functions like climate control. Like the EVs offered by start-ups such as Tesla, Lucid and Rivian, the new Jaguar features only a minimal number of traditional controls, most key functions reliant on the two touchscreens.
As for that center console, it extends the full length of the cabin, effective dividing the passenger compartment into four quadrants. Each occupant gets a sumptuously finished heated, cooled and massaging seat. And Jaguar has finished the cabin in a blend of cutting edge metals and fabrics.
Pricing and Availability
The familiar Jaguar Leaper logo will still be found on a “finisher” panel behind the front wheels.
Production of the new Jaguar will begin around the end of the year, the first of new EVs set to roll into U.S. showrooms during the first half of 2027.
California, not surprisingly, is expected to be Type 01’s biggest market. Final pricing has yet to be determined but potential buyers should expect something in the range of $120,000 to $130,000, Glover indicated. Unlike past Jaguar products, he emphasized, the British marque does not plan to follow up on the initial Type 01 launch with a cheaper, lower-powered package. If anything, expect to see Jaguar move even more upscale going forward.
We shouldn’t have to wait long to see where the brand moves next. While company officials were tight-lipped, several dealers gathered for Tuesday night’s New York event acknowledged seeing an advanced prototype of what’s to follow, a sleek new battery-electric crossover to be dubbed Type 02. It’s planned to be the brand’s real volume driver. While declining to confirm that, Glover hinted we will see the next model debut in the months after Type 01 rolls into showrooms in the U.S. and other parts of the world.
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