Right, are we ready to apologise to Jaguar yet?
No? Just me? Well, let me tell you why you should too.
The production version of the Type 01 was showcased a couple of days ago, and it was pretty much same as the concept. And I will be the one with the hot take and say it out loud, I don't hate it...
For starters, however, I would like to apologise to Jaguar for all the hate it is getting, AND honestly give it credit for going ahead with a 4 door GT in a market obsessed and filled with SUVs or hatchbacks labelled as SUVs.
Then, when you look at the evolution of the cars from the brand, you start to see that they did not really move too far away from the design language. They modernised it.
Hear me out. The XJs of the Jag were always these long cars. Low, stretched, and demanding huge road presence. Now look at the Type 01. Do you see it? No, I am not saying the design is the same. It is similar. Look at the XJL from 2010 era, then go back another era and look at the XJ with the four-headlight face. The similarities are right there in front of you.
Now, if you look at the evolution over the years, you can clearly see the changes have been radical from generation to generation. The grilles, headlights, surfacing, overall proportions, design language, and body shape. Everything was different with each iteration. So, when the Type 01 came out with a complete design language change too, how is it different?
Now if your counter to that is the overall bland nature of design, you'd have to blame the entire auto market, wouldn't you? For example, the Ioniq 5, the latest Audi Nuvolari, most of the electric car designs seem to be moving towards the same design language. The taut surfaces, striking lines, and almost a monolithic form.
Can't blame one brand to want to blend into the current design 'zeitgeist' and get ready for the future, can you?
But if that still doesn't convince you, the question remains, is your judgement being shadowed by the rebranding that happened a while ago?
Because I think that part, I will not give it to Jag. They messed up on that front for sure. But then... so did many others! McLaren, AUDI in China, Volvo, and a lot more!