Back in November of last year, Jaguar seemed determined to prove that all they wanted to do was set everything on fire and then hire a bunch of ex-theater-kid dorks to dance on the ashes in 2017-era Fashion Week getups. They did a dramatic rebrand and showed a new logo that looked like they had taken all of Jaguar’s storied history and given it a nice soaking in urine. When they showed their new concept car that promised to be the new direction of Jaguar design, the Type 00, our captive designer Adrian Clarke wrote a piece titled Why Does The New Jaguar Type 00 Look Like A Concrete Shithouse?
As you may have inferred, nobody was really thrilled with the new direction of Jaguar design.
Now, though, the Type 00 concept has been seen out in public, on real public roads, in a real city, and I think I may somehow be warming up to this strange thing?
Here, you can see it in Paris, gliding around and looking like it somehow doesn’t exactly fully exist as part of our reality:
The Jaguar eventually came to a stop by the curb and disgorged strangely elven-looking actor Barry Keoghan:
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One interesting detail that was revealed was how the trunk is accessed on the car:
Now, I’m still not down with the no-rear-window look, because that’s just stupid and that retractable panel absolutely could have been a rear window, but it’s good to see how the cargo area is being treated here. It’s not exactly cavernous, but I’m still hoping at least some portion of that vast, runway-sized hood may be hiding a nice coffin-shaped frunk under there.
It may be the striking blue color, it may be the cartoonishly-exaggerated proportions, but whatever it is, this thing does have presence. It feels otherworldly and strange, I think in large part due to the minimal surface detailing and low-polygon, gouraud-shaded look of the thing, and as it slinks down a street it absolutely commands attention.
I think that’s kind of the whole point of this car, which means it’s doing its job successfully, which is all one can expect of a car. Of course, this is a concept car, still full of all sorts of concept car frippery and possessing a gleeful ignorance of practicality and regulations, so it can pull this sort of thing off with ease.
But it does give me some hope; hope that Jaguar will continue to make cars that turn heads, cars that when you encounter them, it feels like something special has happened in your day. I think the original E-Type had that quality, albeit in a more conventionally lovely way, but I do think some production version of the Type 00 may be able to pull it off as well.
This could end up being something akin to the Tesla Cybertruck, design-wise, in the sense that while I may not particularly like it specifically, I like that it exists, and I think the overall car-space is better for having such outliers in it.
This thing is out there in the world, but doesn’t quite feel like a part of it. It’s aggressively artificial, contrived, the polar opposite of anything natural, something that kicks the idea of harmony down to the ground and then gives it a silver lamé jumpsuit and a bottle of vodka-spiked blue Gatorade by way of apology. The apology is insincere, too.
But that’s what I like about this thing. It’s unashamed and a little ugly and brash and showy and striking and it turns mundanity into an event. So good for you, Jaguar. Maybe you’re actually going to fight your way out of that pit of irrelevance with enough loud madness. That is, if you can pull off a production version that somehow keeps all of these elements, which will be no small feat.
Despite my better judgement, I think I’ll be rooting for you.
It’s interesting to see in the public, moving setting. It’s fine as a concept car. I love concept cars!
It looks a bit like someone who has never seen a car was shown 50 mixed photos of 60s sports cars, 50 photos of a Cybertruck, and asked to draw a car.
Though it’s understandable due to the pedestrian hindrance, the way it creeps along the streets makes it look like the drivetrain consists of a washing machine motor with some high reduction gearing on it.
That someone can be just AI
It almost certainly is powered by a washing machine motor connected to a load of 12 volt batteries. Our L663 hard models to show press/dealers/VIPs/B2B partners were motivated the same way.
I like the wheels and the front. Hopefully they develop the rest. Would be pretty funky and cool if the Slit Headlights rise up slightly from flush when on.
Jaguar definitely needed a bold, new design direction. The I-Pace was a move towards that but a false start, pushing the definition of “SUV” just as far in the direction of “yeah, it’s a hatchback because we expect you to use it like one” as is possible, before anyone else did. It stumbled so the Mazda CX-30, Chevy Trax/Buick Envista and even the Ferrari Purosangue could soar.
But it just didn’t work for Jaguar, so now they’re trying the exact opposite move, a bluff, butch, square-edged, flinty-eyed long hooded coupe.
To find something new and interesting one has to push boundaries and I appreciate they’re doing that. If Jaguar’s spirit is to be innovative and striking, then this is more of a Jag than them churning out another E type inspired ‘conventionally’ beautiful car. Going down a retro route would be doing a disservice to a legacy of forward-looking cars.
“It’s unashamed and a little ugly and brash and showy and striking and it turns mundanity into an event.”
I’ll argue that’s a job for Rolls Royce, not Jaguar. I mean, have you seen a Cullinan? The sight of them just roils my stomach – but everybody is sure to know what you’ve got.
No, a Jaguar is something else. It should be lithe, luxurious, and comfortable, and yet with the understanding there are performance versions out there that can surprise you with their bite. To share what my best friend said when he borrowed my ’88 XJ6 (which is generally regarded along with the Type S as the red-headed stepchild of the Jag family): that it wasn’t particularly fast, it didn’t handle spectacularly, the gas mileage is bad, but that there was something about driving down the road in old school luxury that made him feel really good. And he’s right about all that.
I’ll also note that every time I walk away from my Jag that I still turn around and admire the sleek lines – and it isn’t even nearly as good looking as a D-type or even an early E-type.
Jaguar needs to hire Toecutter, ASAP – because what he preaches is exactly what Jaguar should be doing. The new electric Jag should be sleek, aerodynamic, and low to the ground. Think a more elegant and old school luxe (not techno luxe) Lucid Air rather than some brutalist exercise in shock value. Working this niche and very upscale market is the only way I can see them surviving, because they won’t succeed trying to building mass market like BMW.
I’d argue Jaguar being about old school luxury doesn’t make sense when you look at the OG versions of their best cars. When the E type came out it was super futuristic, same with the XJ6, same with the XJS. None of these cars looked back and they were very much cars of tomorrow in their time. Sadly there was not the resources to update/replace these cars in time so they suffered being perceived old-fashioned later in life. Rolls already do old-school luxury in a way.
Ah, I see the disconnect – when I talk about old school luxe I’m primarily referring to interior treatment – i.e. think Connolly leather and wood burl and tactile controls and sensations rather than six feet of touchscreens and piano black and sterile surfaces everywhere. My ’88 XJ6 actually lards on some of the cutting edge tech of the era such as a trip computer and fluorescent displays in the dash, and frankly they are some of the least successful bits of the car while being the most prone to failure.
Although, the E-Type and early XJ-S were devoid of wood, and even the early Series I XJ’s were pretty light on it (going with more shiny metallic bits than later cars). They keep trying to escape the old world drawing room thing that appeals to a shrinking group of buyers, but unfortunately everything they try seems to appeal to a non-existent group of buyers.
My aunt used to drive me to Sunday school in a 1962 E-type, that my uncle won in a poker game, and it didn’t seem like a luxury car at all. More like an airplane. Our MG 1100 had more wood.
0. To my eyes that thing looks even worse in the real world than in the artific surroundings of a studio.
1.What’s wrong with old school luxury? I’m looking desperately for a walnut and leather car like the X100 and X350, X351 which were the last cars that offered such an interior. Jaguar always stood for that and it:s stupid to abandon that expectation. I’m near pulling the trigger on an XK8, even if I think these cars are too old by now to use daily.
2.The E-Type was something else I give you that, but the styling wasn’t meant to be offensive and wasn’t regarded as that. You could argue that’s part of the reason the E-Type succeeded and is seen as a design high water mark. (Excpept the handful of detail bloopers Adrian pointed out a while ago.
3.The XJ Series I was NOT super futuristic, but a consolidation of the then current Jaguar sedan models. The styling was the logical continuation of the S-Type / Mk X / 420 / 420G.
4.The XJ-S wasn’t smashing success in the beginning not at least because of it’s rather bland early interior without any wood veneer, That was corrected as the customer demanded a more luxurious expereince from such an expensive car.
The Cullinan is almost fine – the glasshouse is just too high. Strip a few inches out of that it would look a lot better.
On the one hand, the color makes my eyeballs hurt. On the other, this thing keeps growing on me like a bad rash. Don’t worry, I am suitably ashamed of myself.
It’s turning a lot of things upside down and starting over, just like the Cybertruck, and as a designer I like that! Simplicity is always stylish.
I’ve seen a 350Z with that wrap.
I just bought a 2024 F Type and glad I did before Jaguar lost its mind! Really Torch? If I didn’t know better, I would say you are just fishing for clicks with this take on the fugly new Jag. Jag is dead, RIP!
Didn’t read the title or article, but looking at the pictures the graphics on GTA 6 look really good.
Oh no. Torch has gone blind
I knew chainsawing those batteries would come back to haunt him.
These dystopian aesthetics are so ugly. Not just this Jaguar, but also these:
-Tesla Cybertruck
-Honda 0-Series
-Honda Space-Hub
-Nissan GTR R36
-Nissan Hyperforce
Kill it with fire.
I really hope the practicalities of building this with things like ‘ground clearance’ and ‘turning circle’ and ‘rear-view mirrors’ don’t ruin the shape. If they can manufacture the body panels (and at the price they’re targeting, they probably can do them in carbon fiber) and also make it seamless like the concept… it’ll be an ‘it’ car.
But I don’t know if Jaguar can culturally build like this anymore.
I was desperately hoping it was going to clip that kerb in the video and mash a wheel.
Which I guess means I’m not a fan.
Trust me, the curbs in Paris are nasty. There’s not a wheel/tire combo that can escape them short of full off-road or truck tires.
After two days in Paris every car looks like the Top Gear Hilux.
I am in no way Jaguar’s target market, so I’m sure they don’t give a rat fart in a high wind about my opinion.
So I’m intrigued by this concept now that I see it IRL. Am I excited? Eeeeeehhhh…
On the one hand, yes. On the other hand it still looks like they took the box an E-Type came in and stuck some 1980s Pontiac wheels on it.
I dislike the bright-edged diffusers on the sides and rear. It also looks like there are surfacing issues near the front-top of the front wheel arches. But the surfacing issues are hard to determine from photos.
Jag needed to abandon their sinking ship and go in a new direction. Rehashing nostalgia has its limits. Eventually, it just becomes synonymous with “old.” The ability to transform a concept into reality and keep the pieces that make it interesting will be tough, but they better make it happen.
I will say that the prototype does look better in the real world, but we’re also dealing with very much idealized proportions that will not translate perfectly to the production model. The line between impressive and goofy-looking is very thin, but if the production version can manage to pull off these same vibes I’ll be pleasantly surprised.
Is the “00” name a reference to buckshot since it’s, yknow, a shooting brake design?
If so, I give them some credit for cleverness. But it’s probably more like “We wanted to invoke the energy of James Bond because this design has a license to kill but only figuratively like to kill the norms and preconceived notions of polite society!”
Also nevermind that we’re not the Bond brand. But we’re British!
This is less Barry Keoghan and more Hull Keoghan.
What are you gonna do when Jag-a-mania runs wild on you, brother?!?!
Ha, had to say it out loud.
Now I am envisioning a TV show where they revive the premise of “Viper” using the Jag OO that frequently morphs into the boat from Thunder in Paradise. It would star Hulk and The Hoff who thwart bad guys and save drowning beach beauties in every episode.
I can’t smell what The Rock is cooking, but it may be an Emmy nomination. It’s time to revive CBS Crimetime after Primetime.
It looks like some sort of futuristic sports car from Batman the Animated Series. I’m not saying it looks like the Batmobile but most cars in that show have similar proportions.
OMG – best Cartoon ever
It really is, I have the remastered series on Blu-ray. R.I.P. Kevin Conroy. 🙁
It took the Tim Burton universe and expanded it.
Make it dark and put wings on it and you’ve got a contender for the next Batmobile.
Maybe even Batman Beyond, they had some wild designs there.
I was going to comment that if you painted it black it could be a good stand in for a BTAS Batmobile. You got there first.
Well, as long as it’s Vantablack I might be okay with it…
My thoughts exactly! its like they did some weird AI injection of a car from that show into the real world for this stunt.
Yeah, I get that
I’ve heard brutalist thrown around a lot (i.e. Cybertruck, which is not) but this really does look carved out of a block of granite
Man, I’m nowhere near nimble enough to get in or out of this thing! That door sill puts a C4 Vette to shame. Why does it look like fake CGI in reality? That is quite the trick.
From the side it looks like somebody stretched out a last gen Camaro. And that’s not a good thing.
Jaguar knows quite well who buys their cars and are desperately trying to do away with them in favor of a new kind of buyer. They didn’t do this whole rebranding thing to appeal to Bob Hoskins-wannabes. They want Barry Keoghans.
I know Bob Hoskins but WTF is the other guy? I’m late 40’s, the age where people start to empty nest and consider purchasing cars like this.
I would not purchase this.
Barry Keoghan is a very famous actor. Has been in everything from Dunkirk to Banshees of Inisherin.
I’ll check IDMB. Damn I’m getting old.
He was also in Masters of the Air, which is a good old-guy show. I found it it a little monotonous. If you want to see him I think he’s in the first two or three episodes (spoiler alert).
I watched the first couple of episodes but couldn’t tell who all the characters were and found the whole thing tedious. Bailed after that episode I think.
That is exactly what they’re going for. They want the young rich folk who are into this kind of ostentation, not their traditional older folk buyers. Keoghan is a younger actor popular in that crowd. Among other things, he starred in Saltburn, which is about a young guy who inserts himself into an old-money rich family and takes their place. Jaguar seems, in essence, to be trying to do that to themselves.
But how many of them are there??? As a late Gen-X I don’t really feel financially secure, let alone my Millennial brother and my daughter.
As many as there have been in years past who would otherwise have bought from other exotic brands. It’s not a volume market. Jaguar is moving upmarket to a narrower clientele.
If we see one of these running around Vancouver with a New Driver sticker, we’ll know whatever Jag is aiming for is working (the wealthy have kids who drive too).
Granted, Barry Keoghan is about 30 years too young to be named Barry.
His name calls up images of an ex-orthodontist from the Boston burbs who retired to The Villages two years ago. Which is much more the typical Jaguar customer than he is.
He’s a fascinatingly contradictory guy. His name and looks would have you believe he’s much older than he is. He’s a star while looking far different from your typical celebrity.
Still looks like someone’s first draft of a ‘future car’ from Robocop or some other sci-fi movie.
That’s not a good thing.
IRL, it actually does look just like a concept ‘rendering’, which is rare.
Amazing what they can do with 3D printer now. /s
And that supermatte finish confuses my brain.
Still a nope for me.