Deep in the heart of the English midlands, Jaguar’s high-tech headquarters in Coventry is abuzz with activity. Camouflaged prototypes of as yet unannounced cars are driving around the company’s private test track, hidden out of sight. We’re ushered in through security, and into the beautiful new steel-and-glass architectural wonder that houses the company’s design studio. Immediately, company reps politely but firmly demand we hand over our phones, which are put into a locked box. We’ll get them back when we leave. There are too many secrets in here to have outsiders snooping around.
“What we have benchmarked are the cars of our past. What would the very, very best Jaguar look like with 21st century technology?”Rawdon Glover, Managing Director of Jaguar
Jaguar has brought us to its home base to drive the most important — and controversial — new Jaguar in decades. That car is called the Type 00, at least for now, and the stakes could not be higher. This is the car that will revive the brand, launching Jaguar into a new, more exclusive automotive stratosphere.
Is the Type 00 That Jaguar Concept?
If you’re thinking of the blue and pink concept cars that launched last year with a similarly colourful ad campaign promising to “delete ordinary” and “copy nothing” then yes: the Type 00 is that Jaguar concept.
Rawdon Glover, the managing director of Jaguar, told us he’s well aware of the negative comments online.
“Social media is a very binary world, isn’t it? It’s, ‘I love it, I hate it’ … even to the point of politicizing — is it, you know, in the U.S., is it red, is it blue?” Glover said when we spoke at company headquarters. But that’s okay, he added, because the new Jaguar isn’t out to please everybody.
“We have people’s attention, whether it’s on social media, in the public, with the automotive press, lifestyle press. So there is a real thirst for: ‘Okay, so tell us why.’ That’s a great position to be in,” Glover explained.
But This Jaguar Type 00 Prototype Looks Different, Right?
The camouflaged car you see here is a production prototype. It’s not a concept, it’s a rough draft of the finished car that’ll end up in showrooms. And, even with the camo, it’s obvious that the production car will be a four door with no rear window. It’s also obvious it shares many of the features and design cues first shown on last year’s concept. The Type 00 — or whatever the production car is eventually called — is absolutely enormous, and strikingly proportioned with a long hood and low roofline, just like so many classic Jags that came before it.
Jaguar Is Embracing Its Roots, Not Running From Them
Yes, you read that correctly. To hear Glover tell it, the Type 00 is Jaguar moving back upmarket, into the “white space” territory above the usual German luxury brands but below ultra-luxury brands like Bentley and Rolls-Royce.
“This idea is about taking us back to our natural habitat, because that’s where we existed for probably most of our 91 years, probably 65–70 of them,” Glover said. The E-Type, the XJ220, XK120, XKSS, and the Le Mans-winning C-Type, these were all machines that occupied that rarified sort of market position.
What Are the Specs of the Jaguar Type 00?
The Type 00 is a palatial four-door grand tourer, and it’s all-electric of course, as per Jaguar’s new strategy. The company is targeting 700 kilometres of driving range. The battery is a hefty 120 kWh unit, and it powers three electric motors putting out a combined total of around 1,000 horsepower. That’s right: four digit power.
As for what the Jaguar Type 00 will cost in Canada, we’re guessing it’ll be around $200,000, given that “white space” territory Glover mentioned. Final figures for price and power aren’t set yet though, but these give a good idea of what to expect.
Deliveries of the Jaguar Type 00 will begin in the first half of 2027.
What is the Jaguar Type 00 Like to Drive?
We’re ushered outside into a courtyard, surrounded by high concrete fences. This is where Jaguar’s designers get to see their creations under the sun, albeit under tight security. A heavily camouflaged Type 00 development prototyped is waiting for us, looking impossibly long and low. Its proportions are even more striking up close. Opening the door reveals a cabin covered in carpeting, to hide the real dashboard and switchgear. Jaguar isn’t ready to show us that just yet. The seating position is low, which is surprising for an EV with an underfloor battery, and the hood seems to stretch out to the horizon.
Immediately, it’s obvious this big Jag is plush. Expansion joints in a bridge feel like they’re somehow distant. The car’s extremely long wheelbase helps smooth out road imperfections, as does the well-tuned air suspension. The chassis was set up by Matt Becker, who gearheads may recognize as the chassis guru behind some of Aston Martin’s greatest recent hits like the DB11. Becker joined Jaguar Land Rover a few years ago, and has been working his magic here ever since — and it shows.
On the company’s private test track — built to mimic bad British country roads — the car feels supremely comfortable, yet still connected to the road. It’s not cloud-like as on a big Rolls-Royce, but it’s not supposed to be either. This thing is meant to be driven. None of the bumps intrude on the calm inside the cabin though. Steering feel is weighty and direct, but not overly quick, and remains undisturbed by bumps and ruts.
On a faster section of the test track that’s more like a highway, the Type 00 feels like it could be a real mile crusher. Acceleration from 60 to 120 km/h is as effortless and rapid as you’d expect, given the fact there’s roughly 1,000 horsepower on tap. Pulling away from a stop, the big Jag is quick but you can feel it’s heavy too. The car rears back on its hind wheels and warps forward with decisive force; it’s not the kind of acceleration that strains your neck but rest assured drivers will never want for more power. Tipping into faster corners there’s a bit of body roll, but the car quickly takes a set stance. Adding more power brings a nice rear-wheel drive push.
There will be a sportier driving mode, and a more comfort-oriented one, but we were only able to try the default mode, which — on first impression — is ideal for a big grand tourer like this.
To Prove the Type 00 Is A Proper Jag, the Company Let Us Drive the Classics
The E-Type is the machine that Enzo Ferrari once called the most beautiful car in the world, but it’s also absolutely tiny. The Series 1 convertible with its straight six engine is indeed gorgeous, but my head is sticking way out above the windshield. But who cares? It sounds glorious and drives like the featherweight sports car it is.
Still, it wasn’t until we got behind the wheel of the green-on-green 1973 XJ V12 sedan that the Type 00’s lineage becomes clear. The XJ has always been Jaguar’s flagship sedan, which means the Type 00 is its spiritual successor. There’s an uncanny similarity to the ride, to the way it tips into corners and rolls down the highway.
Jaguar’s engineers told us it was actually the 1978 XJ Coupe V12 that was the main inspiration for the Type 00’s road manners. The Coupe is naturally a bit firmer and sportier than the XJ sedan, with weightier steering. After much of the chassis work was done, the engineers measured the Type 00 and the old XJ C and — lo and behold — the way they ride over bumps and through corners is almost identical. So, yes, the Type 00 drives and handles like a proper true Jag, despite all the strange marketing last year.
Glover explains that the target was always to create an XJ for the 21st century. This wasn’t an exercise in picking a rival and going after it to steal market share, not at all.
“What we have benchmarked are the cars of our past,” said Glover. “What would the very, very best Jaguar look like with 21st century technology?” he asked rhetorically. The answer, for him and for Jaguar’s many designers and engineers, is the Type 00 — and they hope customers will agree when the first car of Jaguar’s new era hits the road in 2027.
