Jaguar’s Type 00 concept is unapologetically provocative

Big, pink and as square as a housebrick, the Type 00 is impossible to ignore. The brutalist styling makes it the Tesla Cybertruck of GT cars, although it is arguably better executed than the flatpack pick-up. The Jaguar does at least have some curves to soften the setsquare styling. The flared wraparound wheelarches that shrinkwrap the 23-inch wheels, for instance, contrast the square edges. Elements of the long, curving roofline have shades of the E-type. Copy nothing, other than what’s broadly accepted as one of the most beautiful cars in the world.

But whichever way you cut it, the Type 00 is no beauty. It’s an unapologetically square-shouldered cuboid of a car that’s wantonly provocative. The naysayers aren’t catching Jaguar out with their criticisms. Jaguar knew it was torching its heritage and the fallout must have been entirely predictable. We’re not going to try to convince anyone that their opinion is wrong. The very nature of an opinion is that it cannot be. If you dislike cars with an excess of flat surfaces, 90-degree corners and a grille that looks like an air conditioning unit, that’s your prerogative. 

What we will say, though, is that we have been here before. Before Jaguar became set in its ways leaning heavily on tradition, it was a daring, forward-thinking company.  Let’s not forget that the Jaguar XJ-S was quite a shock when it took over from the E-type. It was so outlandish, in fact, that it lived a very long life and enjoyed considerable sales success towards the end of its life. The world eventually caught up with it. Who’s to say the Type 00 won’t reach acceptance? Question is, does Jaguar have twenty years to find out?

And, while Jaguar has its progressive mojo at the moment, it reminds us that there is a precedent for luxury British saloon cars that renounce beauty in favour of brutalism. Long before the designed-with-a-ruler Type 00 was prolific designer William Towns. If ever there was a car designer who favoured straight lines, it was Towns. And when he was commissioned to design an upmarket three-box car, the result was the Aston Martin Lagonda. It could almost be the new Jaguar's grandfather; there’s certainly a family resemblance. The Rolls-Royce Camargue is another example of sledgehammer styling usurping finesse and, like the Jaguar concept, that was a two-door.

How much of the Type 00 (pronounced ‘zero-zero’, by the way) will make it to the production line is open to conjecture. The general form is certainly consistent with the disguised prototype that’s currently undergoing testing, although the outline of a test mule can be radically altered. The slim headlights look similar, as does the size of the wheels.

We do know, of course, that the first new-era Jaguar will be a four-door, so that swooping roofline probably won’t make it to the showroom. Will the production car have a back window? Will the lights be disguised in the slatted design that’s repeated around the car? Only time will tell. The brass Leaper-decorated flaps that hide the camera look rooted in reality.

The concept’s interior is minimalist to the point of looking underdone. Rotating screens keep the dashboard looking blank when retracted, while a central spine dissects the cabin. Material choice is brass, textile and travertine stone. As with the exterior appearance, we can only speculate as to how much of it will be available to customers when deliveries begin in early 2026.

There was no internet when the Lagonda and Camargue were new, so we’ll never know how much of a lather social media would have got into about them. One thing’s for sure, the reaction to the teaser video and now the concept car proves just how embedded the Jaguar brand is in the nation’s psyche. People really do care about it, and they're not all car enthusiasts. Jaguar is going all in on a bold EV future. Will buyers go with them?