Unless you've been living under a rock for the last few weeks, you'll likely know all about the Jaguar rebrand which has been making headlines. In short, the iconic British car manufacturer has gone for broke, with a significant reworking of the badge and brand styling.
To say it has split opinions might be something of an understatement. Legions of pitchfork-wielding folk online have been quick to call out the change. There's an awful lot to unpack in many of the comment sections, but the main argument appears to be a devaluation of the iconic brand.
It's not hard to see where that sentiment comes from. Perhaps best known for the iconic E-Type, Jaguar has existed since the 1920s in one form or another. The E-Type itself was the poster car of a generation, and many will feel that they aren't just seeing a re-brand – they're losing a part of their childhood.
Sadly, though, dealing entirely on sentimentality and heritage hasn't really worked for the brand. Sales have been declining over the past few years, with something of a lack of direction in the brands portfolio.
Back to the drawing board...
Enter the new Jaguar Type 00 concept. I can only assume the design brief was something along the lines of "villain-era Pink Panther car", but it works brilliantly. There's no greater two-fingered salute to those crying that you've "gone woke" than releasing a bright pink car, and I'm all for it.
The deep lines and low profile feel like a perfect modern interpretation of classic Jaguar models. You can definitely see the influence of old 50s and 60s S-types and XK's in this concept, while the birds-eye profile looks poised, like a jungle cat ready to pounce.
Of course nothing they put out will actually look like this. It's almost laughable to think it would. While concept designs often yield some basis in reality down the line, they rarely look much like the finished article.
I certainly think that a slightly abridged version of this is plausible, though. Something which takes the overall energy on show here and dilutes it down into a more palatable end product.
But ultimately, the job of this campaign is already done. Jaguar was struggling to trade solely on history, and took a bold step to completely reshape its branding. You're already talking about it, and that's really all it needed to do. Becoming a fan favourite was never the assignment here – shock value is far more valuable,
When it does launch, the specs being discussed will stand up favourably in the current EV market. And all of that makes this release sound like a really compelling one to me.
