I am pretty sure I heard a while back that Jaguar fired the dude responsible for the disastrous rebrand surrounding the Type 00. It was never confirmed, but seemed very likely after that weird “copy nothing” thing.
I bring that up because it was clear Jaguar knew it made a misstep. Erasing its iconic history full of game-changing, stylish vehicles for a strange bubble gum pink campaign and a bubble gum pink block-of-a-car seemed odd. Especially when car enthusiasts were already skeptical that Jaguar was going full EV. Full EV and cringe? Come on…
Jaguar has removed most of that rebranding from its website at this point. The site is simple and black, with professional text. If you look at the top header, however, you can see “copy nothing, a new era begins” written in tiny lettering. But it’s largely nowhere near the original rebrand that rocked the auto industry.
However, that’s why I think it’s odd that Jaguar finally revealed the name for the Type 00, and it’s still basically the same name. The official name is the Type 01.
The name is lame
This is part of Jaguar’s new marketing strategy. A blend of old and new, of heritage and future. The Jaguar electric GT’s name is inspired by both Jaguar’s old vehicles, which were named C-Type, E-Type, and F-Type, and an electric future. The name will appear “on the strikethrough motif where the bonnet meets the windscreen.”
It honestly isn’t that great of a name, which feels way too similar to the original codename that was part of the marketing fiasco. I’m surprised they wanted to remind people of that whole thing. But there’s a reason for it.
Jaguar boss Rawdon Glover said to Top Gear: “We have reimagined Jaguar for a new era, with inspiration from what has gone before. Our engineers have achieved this with a vehicle that looks and drives like no other electric car, yet reflects a unique provenance.
“The Type 01 name is part of that story – for me, the zero also signifies a complete brand reset, and the ‘1,’ our first car for a new chapter, a ‘one of a kind.'”
Jaguar has been thinking hard about this. Still, I don’t know. However, I think the model itself may distract people from all that “copy nothing” stuff.
The Jaguar Type 01 was getting rave reviews a month ago. It’s a tri-motor electric sporty vehicle with more than 986 horsepower, a 120kWh battery, and over 400 miles of range. It’s meant to be a blend of luxury and fun, and it seems like Jaguar nailed it, if you ask car journalists. It feels… like a Jaguar. And I think that will make people forgive the name, forgive the marketing stuff.
