Jaguar’s 986-HP Type 01 EV effortlessly climbs Goodwood as car buffs call it a ‘quick fridge’

Jaguar represented the pinnacle of old-world British luxury with its beefy, classic XJ8, built from 1997 to 2003. It was the company’s last immaculate full-size luxury saloon lineup, powered by smooth 4.0-liter V8s and complemented by four retro-chic headlights, a curved, humped hood, and generous chrome detailing.

In 2024, amid declining sales, the company shocked the automotive world with a radical change in its marketing and design. Jaguar abandoned its classic roots and released a bizarre “Copy Nothing” ad featuring models in colorful clothing, with no car or new model in sight. Just two weeks earlier, the Jaguar Type 00 concept had been unveiled at Miami Art Week. Many critics and industry watchers have since expressed disappointment with the redesign, which discarded the iconic leaping Jaguar emblem.

Despite this abrupt pivot, Jaguar executives have defended the move to an ultra-luxury EV strategy as a bid to save the brand. At the Goodwood Festival of Speed in West Sussex, Jaguar debuted its Type 01 “electric GT” EV, wrapped in swirling vivid camouflage in blue, navy and teal tones. This was the third public appearance of the Jaguar Type 01 EV, following earlier showcases in Monaco and on the streets of Paris.

Plenty of power under the hood

As shown on Instagram, the Type 01 Electric GT launched off the starting grid with light throttle input and handled corners with ease while maintaining strong speed. The interesting part is that it completed the 1.16-mile Goodwood Hill Climb in near silence, a sharp contrast to the surrounding chorus of roaring and screaming V8s and V12s. The only real noise came from the tires and the crowd. 

So what is Jaguar hiding beneath the hood and camouflage of the Type 01 Electric GT? According to Top Gear, at its core is Jaguar’s new Jaguar Electric Architecture (JEA) platform, powered by an 800-volt system and a fast-switching silicon-carbide inverter. This setup reduces energy loss, shrinks component size, and cuts cooling demands compared with conventional inverters.

The inverter feeds three electric motors: one on the front axle and two at the rear for an all-wheel-drive setup that Jaguar says still feels rear-driven. With the trio of motors powered by the 800V JEA architecture, the Jaguar Type 01 EV produces nearly 1,000 PS (986 horsepower) and 959 lb-ft of torque, enabling a 0–60 mph sprint in under three seconds. 

A 120-kWh battery pack, assembled in-house at JLR’s Wolverhampton engine plant, powers the Type 01. Jaguar claims the car can DC fast charge at up to 350 kW and offers a range of 430 miles.

A polarizing design

Even under camouflage, the Type 01’s design is strikingly polarizing. The front face abandons a traditional grille in favor of a few angled, ultra-thin rectangular slits for air intake. Four razor-sharp lights, arranged in a rectangular layout carried over from the Type 00 concept, frame the face. Overall, the Type 01 looks minimal, angular, and boxy, more like a modern muscle car, with pronounced wheel arches housing 23-inch wheels.

Jaguar has replaced the rear glass with a panoramic digital camera system, while the rear panel hides its taillights behind a bold “Strikethrough” graphic. The wrap itself, dubbed Exuberant Modernism, was expressively designed to “polarize” the car community, which it did.

Still, many enthusiasts remain unimpressed with Jaguar’s rebranding and the Type 01’s new aesthetic, with some dismissing it as “quick fridge.”

Jaguar will reveal the production Type 01 in full in October 2026 in New York. Production is scheduled to begin in late 2026, with deliveries in the UK and US promised for the first half of 2027, starting at around $130,000.