As discussed just last week on PH, Jaguar has never really been known for exceptional nameplates. Their cars may have rivalled everything from Quattroportes to Exiges, but Jaguar names themselves haven’t tended to be particularly evocative. Historically speaking, the brand has generally let the ground-breaking model underneath do the talking, its history littered with examples of letters that have since become instantly recognisable based on their close proximity to a chromed big cat.
Well, you might not see much of the latter in the coming months, but Jaguar has opted to (sort of) stick with tradition when it came to the job of naming its 1,000hp+ mega EV: the car we've previously been referring to as the Type 00 will now come to market as the Jaguar Type 01.
While that might disappoint anyone hoping for something as unorthodox as the car itself, the logic doesn’t take very much explaining. ‘Type’ has been a Jaguar thing since the C-Type of 1951, and its most valuable and famous machines are sports cars wearing the moniker. Meanwhile, the ‘0’ is a signifier of zero exhaust emissions, and ‘1’ represents the first of a new generation - simple as that.
Naturally it builds on the huge amount of internet coverage already generated by the concept - so much so that one wonders what other names were workshopped before JLR opted to keep things nice and simple - but also points to a naming convention (Type 02, 03 etc) that can be conveniently applied to future models as Jaguar's EV era takes hold. We won't dwell on the manufacturer's less-than-inspiring choice of font here (differing opinions welcome, as ever), but for reference, the badge you pictured is from where the bonnet meets the windscreen, apparently a ‘signature of future Jaguar’.
All of which means, of course, that we aren’t far from seeing the finished production car - what a nice quiet day on the internet that’ll be. Camo’d Type 01 prototypes will be at Monaco this week - exactly the sort of place Jag will be hoping to sell a few - ahead of the Formula E weekend, with the full thing to be revealed later in 2026, most likely September if the scuttlebutt is to be believed.
Jaguar’s MD, Rawdon Glover, said: “We have reimagined Jaguar for a new era, with inspiration from what has gone before. Our engineers have achieved this with a vehicle that looks and drives like no other electric car, yet reflects a unique provenance. The Type 01 name is part of that story – for me, the zero also signifies a complete brand reset, and the ‘1’, our first car for a new chapter, a ‘one of a kind!’”
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