Jaguar Type 01: ‘the last-chance saloon’

“Massive, ambitious, controversial, and expensive”, Jaguar’s luxury electric GT is here at last, said Top Gear Magazine, and setting a new tone for the marque – “all electric, more luxurious, rarer, bespoke”. The Type 01 is also the “last-chance saloon” for the carmaker. “If this car bombs, Jaguar dies.”

With more than 150 prototypes, and put through its paces from the Arctic to Death Valley, it is the most extensively tested Jaguar. It’s also the most powerful, aerodynamic and patented Jaguar of all time. At two metres wide and 5.2 metres long, it’s got “immense presence”, though its low stance and raked rear do make it look rather like a “cartoon villain getaway car”.

Jaguar has ripped up the rule book with the Type 01, which is built on an all-new platform. It is made from 73% aluminium but still weighs about 2.9 tonnes, said Evo. It is “unapologetically imposing”, with “towering proportions”, yet it only seats four.

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With a 120kWh battery, and three e-motors – a 260kW front motor and twin 310kW rear motors – for a combined 1,015bhp, it has a claimed range of 450 miles. It can do 0-62mph in 3.2secs, with a top speed of 150mph, and charges from 10%-80% in just 22 minutes on a fast charger.

The Type 01 sits on massive 23-inch wheels, and the low profile and long bonnet make it look “a bit like a Batmobile”, said T3. Its interior is “gentler”, with a choice of NeoGrain fabric or leather. The driver gets a 24-inch OLED screen, and there’s a smaller 7-inch infotainment screen in the centre.

There’s no rear windscreen, just a digital rear mirror on the dash, which houses a panoramic soundbar. There’s a voice assistant for hands-free operation in 18 languages. Orders are expected to open early next year.