Jaguar Type 01 has been doing laps of Monaco, because if you are going to relaunch an entire luxury brand, you may as well do it somewhere with cliffs, money, boats, and a circuit that smells of money.
The prototypes appeared ahead of the Monaco E-Prix on 16 May, wearing a new camouflage wrap that shows the shape more plainly than Jaguar has allowed before. Not only is Jaguar launching a new electric four-door GT, it is trying to convince the world that the old cat has not wandered off behind the bins for a nap. It is moving upmarket, and after the disaster that was the relaunch ad campaign, it needs all the help it can get.
The Type 01 name was confirmed before the race weekend, with the badge appearing on the strikethrough motif where the bonnet meets the windscreen. The wrap uses straight and circular monolithic strokes, paired with Jaguar’s brighter new colours. It is all very Downton Abbey with solar panels, which is not a criticism. If Jaguar is going to be expensive and dramatic, it should look expensive and dramatic.
The Monaco bit is not random location direction either. Sainte-Du00e9vote, Casino Square, and La Rascasse are not merely pretty postcard names for people who have never had to reverse into a Woolies carpark on a wet Thursday. They are motorsport landmarks, and Jaguar has form there. Jaguar TCS Racing won in Monaco in 2024, and the company says the Type 01 has been tuned using knowledge from its Formula E programme.
That means all-wheel drive control software, fast-switching silicon carbide-powered inverters, regenerative braking work, range development, and fast-charging lessons from the racing team. Strip away the PR organ music and the useful bit is this: Jaguar is using its electric racing hardware brain trust to make the road car sharper.
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ABOVE: Jaguar Type 01 prototype in Monaco ahead of the E-Prix.
Formula E in a Tux and patent leather pumps
Rawdon Glover, Managing Director, Jaguar, said the company embedded the competition mindset of Jaguar TCS Racing into the engineering teams. Jaguar should have done this instead of the silly nameless faces and stupid clothes ad, but their range had already been axed and this model has been a long time coming. Formula E is a brutal development lab for electric drive systems, thermal management, regen, and software control, and is not something all EVs have advantage of.
The Type 01 is being pitched as a luxury four-door GT that drives like no other electric car. Big words, darling, very big words. Electric GTs are not thin on the ground anymore, and buyers with serious shekels can already shop Porsche Taycan, Mercedes EQS, Audi e-tron GT, BMW i7, and whatever Tesla is pretending to be this week. Keep in mind, there is no Tesla in this arena since the Model S’s fall from grace. Is that a warning?
Jaguar’s problem is not whether people remember the badge, because 100 years of heritage and movie appearances says they do. The problem is whether they believe the badge belongs in the future rather than in the corner of a golf club car park beside a beige knit and empty martini glass The new Type 01 has to feel like a proper Jaguar, not just a large battery fur coat and no knickers.
The naming helps, with C-type, E-type, and F-TYPE signalling a certain meaning: power, grace, speed, and a hint of trouble after dark. Jaguar says the 0 in Type 01 refers to electric propulsion and zero tailpipe emissions, while the 1 marks the first Jaguar of a new era, but big asking prices rely on more than promises. The “Solid as the Bank of England” angle means designed, developed, and built in the UK, a fact that will still carry weight with the faithful.
The car will be revealed later this year. Until then, this Monaco run gives us the best look yet at the silhouette, the profile, and the drama Jaguar wants back. The brand has been accused of many things lately, subtlety not among them.
Jaguar, once a brand known for handsome, graceful, luxurious gentlemen’s carriages, descending into a reputation for breakdowns, depreciation, and dull and outdated technology. With the S-Type and X-Type hanging over their heads, and the long running XJ now only a memory, Jaguar’s new hill is something on which the brand will live or die. A brand with a single model is a brand built on a wet finger held in the air.
Other GayCarBoys Jaguar Stories
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Alan Zurvas is the founder and editor of Gay Car Boys, Australia's leading LGBTQI+ automotive publication. Before launching GCB in 2008, Alan's automotive writing was published in SameSame.com.au and the Star Observer. With over 16 years of hands-on car reviewing experience, Alan brings an honest, irreverent voice to every review — championing value and innovation over brand loyalty.
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