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Jaguar sent ripples through the automotive industry with its Type 00 Concept in 2024, and now its production form has been spotted testing.
Electric Cars
Jaguar’s bold decision to rebrand in 2024, seemingly turning its back on the brand’s almost 80-year history for a fresh image, captured a massive amount of attention for the brand.
The first design concept shown, the Type 00 Concept, served as a reset for Jaguar’s design direction – the first since the Ian Callum-designed XF of 2007 cut ties with the brand’s retro-design links.
Now, the production version of the Type 00 has been caught testing under heavy camouflage, revealing some significant differences to the design of the original brutalist concept car.
As expected, the production version of the Type 00 is a four-door fastback sedan, rather than the coupe body style of the concept.
The resulting proportions aren’t significantly different. The concept already had a long bonnet and extended wheelbase, and both appear to have been carried over to the sedan.
The concept’s tapered roof has been adjusted, allowing additional rear seat headroom, but the flowing roof-to-rear-pillar arc of the coupe appears to have been retained, with a decoy panel bulking out the car’s real silhouette.
Elements like the vent-like rear fascia containing the coupe’s taillights have been abandoned, with a more traditional set of outboard tail lights visible on the camouflaged car.
The very flat bumper surface of the concept has also morphed into a more recognisable production form. Still quite blocky, but with a lower lip detail and additional lower lighting integrated in.
The heavy camouflage of the sedan wraps over the rear window, suggesting the concept’s lack of a rear windscreen will carry over to production, and much like the windowless tailgate of the Polestar 4, the Jaguar sedan looks to have a hatchback rear, rather than a traditional sedan bootlid.
The front of the car is equally obscured, but breaks in the camouflage suggest that a traditional grille panel may be adopted, in place of the stamped surfacing used on the concept.
As an eclectic vehicle, this panel is likely to serve as a cover for radars and cameras, rather than an actual air intake. White tape covers the new Jaguar workmark, which occupies the same position as it did on the concept vehicle.
Slim headlights and sharp creases at the leading edge of the guards appear to have been retained, though slightly taller lighting units and pedestrian impact regulations may see some of the Type 00’s sharp creases softened slightly in the move to production.
Jaguar has previously stated that the as-yet unnamed production version of the Type 00 will be a four-door GT car, positioned more like a Porsche Panamera than the Jaguar XJ’s traditional position as a Mercedes-Benz S-Class rival.
A 700km driving range and a price point of ‘over £100,000’ ($AU208,800) have been targeted for the new EV, which is set to become the first of three new electric models built atop the brand’s new JEA electric vehicle platform, with a traditional sedan and SUV to follow.
The heavy camouflage visible on the car being tested in these images suggests early validation work is still taking place, suggesting a 2025 reveal for the final production iteration could potentially be pushed back to 2026.
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Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
