The Crown Jewel Test Drive
Monaco is known as a small country with no personal income tax, making it a magnet for the ultra-wealthy. For car enthusiasts, it is also home to the Monaco Grand Prix, one of Formula 1’s most historic races. That is why Jaguar’s visit to the country to build hype for the Type 01 seems appropriate, especially as the upcoming model is touted as a car that will drive “like no other electric car.”
For the uninitiated, the Type 01 will be Jaguar’s first car under its renewed strategy focused exclusively on EVs. The luxury four-door GT is expected to feature a tri-motor setup capable of delivering more than 1,000 horsepower, essentially making it the most powerful Jaguar ever on paper. That powertrain stretched its legs around the Monaco Circuit, with the EV wearing a distinctive camouflage wrap covering what the automaker calls a “modernist” design.
More Than a Publicity Lap
Jaguar’s trip to Monaco is about more than capitalizing on the Monaco E-Prix. The automaker won the 2024 ABB FIA Formula E Teams’ World Championship, giving it valuable racing learnings and experience that could feed into the development of the Type 01. Other notable brands that use Formula E racing to develop EV technology include Nissan and Porsche.
“To achieve our vision for Type 01, we not only harnessed our Formula E know-how but also embedded the competition mindset of Jaguar TCS Racing in our engineering teams,” Rawdon Glover, Jaguar managing director, said.
As for the nameplate, “Type” has long been part of Jaguar’s nomenclature, as seen in iconic models such as the E-Type, which Enzo Ferrari once called the most beautiful car ever made. The “0” represents electric propulsion and zero tailpipe emissions, while the “1” signifies the first model under Jaguar’s rebranding.
Big Electric Gamble
That said, the Type 01 appears to be a crucial release, especially as Jaguar Land Rover continues to work through financial challenges. So far, early media impressions have been positive, which could prove important as the Type 01 enters a market where expensive EVs like the Lucid Air have proven difficult to sell.
Jaguar will reveal the Type 01 later this year, with prices reportedly starting at around $150,000 to $160,000.
