Cologne and perfume department salespeople are some of the most persuasive folks on the planet. There was one time I found myself at the cologne counter of a well-known department store, and the salesperson had me try a scent. I didn’t like it, but she so convinced me my wife would that I agreed to take home a sample. I wore it through the front door and my wife immediately told me to shower to get the stench off because not only did it smell like Pepe Le Pew trying to entice Penelope, but it also wasn’t my style to begin with. The recently revealed 2028 Jaguar Type 01 is the automotive version of this; the company was so entranced with a new and exciting direction that it completely forgot its roots and the end result is something that should be washed off and flushed down the drain.
The most impressive part of this car (outside of the audacity of its designers) has to be the performance drivetrain. It features electric Tri-Motor technology with Intelligent Torque Vectoring, which works to “put the power precisely where it’s needed.” This drivetrain is advertised to go from 0-62 mph in 3.2 seconds thanks to an available 1,015 horsepower and 1,006 lb-ft of torque. Jaguar touts that it called on its Jaguar TCS Racing Formula E team to provide input on creating the performance drivetrain, so the Type 01 has that going for it.
Higher-ups at Jaguar Land Rover wanted the Type 01 to have a long hood, low roofline, and sheer surfaces similar to the Project Pantera clay model. That has been achieved and, as a plus, the body lines are so rigid, they even provide an exterior armrest to all occupants while the windows are down. With a design that looks like the lovechild of both a Chrysler Crossfire and 300, the Jaguar Type 01 is sure to both turn and shake heads. Another important exterior feature is that there is no rear window. It seems Jaguar didn’t want to sacrifice futuristic minimalist design for real-world functionality and instead opted to rely on a camera-mirror setup for the driver to see what is behind him or her.
People who are interested in the Type 01 do have the option of choosing from eight different colors: Refined Grey, Dramatic White, Visionary Silver, Iconic Black, and Compelling Blue. Alright, that’s five, but interested parties can also select Mesmerising Copper or Modernist Blue with a satin finish, or they can opt for the Design Vision, which is a Visionary Silver with a satin finish.
The interior consists of two main focal points: screens and blank space. The 24.0-inch OLED touchscreen runs Jaguar’s latest software, and each row has individual 7-inch portrait touchscreens that control climate and seat position settings. All of it runs on an Nvidia-based operating system that offers over-the-air updates, which is pretty cool. The cabin was designed to have Active Road Noise Cancellation and a full-width panoramic soundbar to “enhance cabin refinement.” These features also serve the purpose of providing much-needed distance between the driver’s ears and the insults thrown at the vehicle by non-blind pedestrians.
It would be one thing if this was just another model; not everything any manufacturer does is going to be great (Ferrari Luce, anyone?). However, after stopping all manufacturing of gas-powered vehicles in December 2025 in favor of becoming an all-electric luxury brand, Jaguar has seemingly taken all its chips and pushed them into the center of the poker table with the Type 01 as its ace in the hole.
“This is a big moment for us,” managing director of Jaguar Rawdon Glover told Motor Trend. He mentioned this release is one of the biggest moments in Jaguar’s 90-year history. If this is a gamble, then judging by the public’s reaction to the original rebrand and the Type 01, this might not end well for the storied British automaker. In other words, it might “pull a British Leyland and disappear.”
The true test will be in early 2027 when orders open for this, uh, *checks notes* automobile. Unfortunately, despite sharing similar design characteristics with a refrigerator, it is not likely Jaguar will have any Black Friday sales — interested parties will simply have to deal with an MSRP of $130,000.
