Jaguar Type 01 feels like a classic XJ with lightning under the bonnet

A drive in a camouflaged Jaguar Type 01 prototype at the brand’s engineering centre in Gaydon, England, left a motoring journalist calling it one of the most misunderstood cars on the road today. The reviewer for TestMiles said the electric grand tourer preserved the grace of a classic Jaguar XJ while delivering pace that felt effortless rather than violent.

Accelerating on Jaguar’s test track with an engineer in the passenger seat, the writer said the car felt as though it was travelling between 70 and 90 mph. The engineer placed a hand on the reviewer’s shoulder and said: “Just to let you know, the track speed limit is 150 mph.” The speedometer read 160.

The Type 01 was gathering speed so smoothly, and the chassis was so settled, that the reviewer initially believed the car was travelling between 70 and 90 mph. Once told the limit, the reviewer saw 160 on the dial and described the chassis as planted, precise and profoundly confident.

The review described the Type 01 as feeling like a 1970s Jaguar XJ propelled by a lightning bolt. The car did not copy the old XJ, the writer said, but captured the quality that made those cars special: the ability to travel at serious speed without making the experience feel uncivilized.

Jaguar’s engineers drove the company’s important historic cars, including the E-Type, XJ, XJ Coupe V12, XJS and XK120, not to copy their shapes but to identify what made them feel like Jaguars. They found a thread of power in reserve, composure under pressure and performance that feels effortless rather than exhausting.

The prototype felt beautifully resolved, the review said, with direct responses, disciplined body control and a dual personality. The car was engaging when asked and composed the rest of the time, behaving as both a performance car and a long-legged luxury GT.

Jaguar calls the Type 01 its new luxury four-door electric GT. The company says the car is the first model developed on the dedicated Jaguar Electric Architecture and the first of a new generation, with the “0” representing zero tailpipe emissions and the “1” marking the beginning of that era.

The production Type 01 is a four-door GT, not the two-door Type 00 design vision that drew earlier criticism. Jaguar has since shown an interior built around four individual spaces, a full-length central spine and technology intended to remain hidden until needed. The company is scheduled to reveal the complete car in New York on October 6, 2026.

The reviewer argued that much of the criticism has focused on the brand’s advertising, its move upmarket and the Type 00 concept rather than the car itself. Those are legitimate subjects, the review said, but they are not a road test.

“Disagree With Me After You Drive It,” the column was headlined, in part. The writer concluded: “On that evidence, the Type 01 is not merely promising. It may become one of the finest-handling grand tourers of its generation.”