It’s a luxury gran tourer with an outrageously long nose, an impossibly short rear, and the ability to turn heads wherever it may find itself. Traits we’ve seen Jaguar pull off before —not really with a pure sports car like the E-Type, but back in 1975 with the arrival of the XJ-S. It was a comfort-oriented Gran Turismo that ushered in a radically new era of design, yet its stark modernity meant it was initially met with harsh criticism and rejection from Jaguar’s traditional customer base. And now we’re here, with another gran tourer, except this one is fully electric and boasts 23-inch wheels. Much like the XJ-S before it, the new Type 01 — foreshadowed by the highly scrutinized Type 00 concept and the accompanying PR campaign — has firmly ripped up the rulebook for the brand, facing an even bigger storm of controversy today.

So, what exactly is the Jaguar Type 01? It’s a four-door GT, a 5,235mm long one at that, but while it’ll be a nightmare to parallel park in central London, its height sits at just 1,403mm tall. The Type 01 sits on Jaguar's bespoke JEA architecture, the result of more than 360 patent applications, and its those details that make the car interesting. There's the "Impossible Panel", a rear quarter pressed in Halewood over six stages to achieve five planes where convention allows three. There are frameless doors with hidden seals, and active front vanes and a deployable spoiler that help deliver a 0.23Cd drag figure, the best of any Jaguar yet.

Underneath its debate-inducing styling, it boasts a tri-motor setup, with 260kW up front and twin 310kW motors at the rear, produces up to 1,030PS and 1,365Nm. That means 0-62mph in 3.2 seconds, and 62-112mph in just 4.0. Jaguar talks less about headline numbers than about power in reserve, and about a car that shrinks around the driver. All-wheel steering gives it the 11.5m turning circle of a compact family car, while 50:50 weight distribution and air suspension handle the rest. Range shouldn't be a worry either. A 118kWh battery and 850-volt architecture promise up to 400 miles of EPA range and 350kW charging can add 200 miles in as little as 13 minutes.

Inside, a brass-inspired central spine divides the cabin into four distinct spaces. With screens in cars getting larger and more ridiculous than ever, Jaguar have, let’s say tripled down on that. With a car this big, a measly 9-inch screen wouldn’t cut it, and so the Type 01 houses a 24-inch OLED screen, connected to a 38-speaker Meridian system includes a world-first Panoramic Soundbar running across the dashboard.

For those wanting something rarer and even more eyecatching than the standard Type -01, a ‘Chromatic Moments’ collection is due, and limited to 60 cars globally, in French Ultramarine or London Red. Orders are expected to open in early 2027, with first deliveries in the second half of the year. As confusing as the car might have seen when we first laid eyes on it last year, the Type 01 has paved the way for other brands to firmly step away from their safe places and dare to be different. The Type 01 is designed, engineered and crafted in the UK, something seldom seen in the car industry right now, and while some won’t be celebrating the car’s existence, we can celebrate it’s home-grown nature at least.