First look: Jaguar is asking buyers to pay substantially more for a car that takes the brand in a new direction. Its new Type 01, unveiled Tuesday in New York, is a four-door electric model with a claimed range of up to 400 miles, sports-car acceleration, and no rear window. With its arrival, Jaguar has entered the ultra-luxury market with its first production car in the segment.
It will go on sale in early 2027, with deliveries expected in the second half of the year. The expected US starting price is $130,500. In Britain, prices will start at £130,000, more than twice the F-Type's roughly £62,000 starting price.
The Type 01 can reach 60 mph in 3.1 seconds. Its claimed 400-mile range would also place it among the longer-range EVs available in the US, giving Jaguar something beyond styling to pitch to prospective buyers.
Much of the underlying technology remains unexplained in the launch materials, including battery capacity, motor configuration, and charging speeds. The testing standard used for the range figure is also unspecified. Without that information, buyers cannot assess charging times or how closely everyday driving will match the advertised range.
Jaguar's engineers have also tried to inject some of the experience of a gasoline-powered car into the electric model. The Type 01 produces a simulated engine sound, while its elongated hood preserves proportions associated with combustion-powered performance cars. Both choices were intended to retain features that car enthusiasts enjoy, although Jaguar doesn't explain how the sound works or whether drivers can change it.
The body posed its own engineering challenges. Designers at Jaguar's headquarters in Britain's West Midlands developed the silhouette, then engineers had to turn it into a production vehicle. One aluminum body-side panel is shaped into five planes. Jaguar calls it "the impossible panel" and displayed it at the New York preview alongside samples of brass-effect anodized aluminum.
The absence of a rear window raises a practical question about visibility. The car's size may also limit its practicality in some markets. For example, the Type 01 is too large for a standard UK parking space.
Although it retains much of the shape and attitude of the Type 00 concept, the production car is presented less flamboyantly. The two-door concept appeared in pink and bright blue at Miami Art Week in 2024. The four-door Type 01 arrived in silver with an "orchid white" interior.
"This is a production car that's in the real world that real people want to buy, and putting it in a context that felt more grounded felt very important," Jaguar managing director Rawdon Glover told The Wall Street Journal.
Jaguar wants those buyers to be younger and wealthier than its previous customers. Glover said that the intended audience would be "very design literate, very technology literate."
That shift follows years of weak sales and an unsuccessful attempt to compete more directly with BMW and Mercedes-Benz through sedans and crossover SUVs. Jaguar now plans to sell fewer cars at much higher prices.
The timing is difficult. Parent company JLR has announced 4,000 job cuts in an effort to save £1.7 billion over two years. The US electric-car market has also weakened, with EV sales this year down almost 50% from 2025, according to Motor Intelligence.
For Jaguar, the task now is to explain the car as thoroughly as it has presented the design. Its acceleration and range figures give buyers a starting point, but charging performance, battery specifications, and the rear-visibility system will help determine how well the Type 01 works in daily use.