Gerry McGovern, chief creative officer at Jaguar, was on hand in Miami to debut two luxury carmaker's concept vehicles while acknowledging the controversy the company has faced while undergoing a polarizing rebranding.
"Jaguar has no desire to be loved by everyone," McGovern said at an unveiling on Monday evening.
According to McGovern, the London Blue and Miami Pink Type 00 electric models pay tribute to the two cities while encapsulating a dash of British heritage.
"London Blue is a homage to our British heritage, while also paying tribute to our favorite E-type," McGovern said to an audience at the Jungle Plaza in the Design District. The car's color is inspired by the opalescent silver blue of the 1960s E-type.
"Miami Pink is a color that is synonymous with this city–its architect, its art, [and] even its football team–or should I say soccer," McGovern joked with the crowd.
For the past two months, Jaguar has been on the receiving end of the Internet's fury, being mocked for its 'fearless' rebrand which was led by McGovern and the leaked release of the Miami Pink rendition of the Type 00 model.
McGovern has a message for the naysayers who won't let up about the preferred car for villains in James Bond films–and it's a quote from founder Sir Williams Lyon.
"A Jaguar should be a copy of nothing," McGovern said. "Don't be held back by the past. Be brave. Be fearless. Copy nothing. Create new objects of desire."
McGovern shared that he briefed these exact words to his creative team, which also appear as captions throughout Jaguar's posts on Instagram and X.
"At our very best we have never conformed," McGovern said. "And this uncompromising creative approach runs from these exuberant proportions all the way through to the finest details."
McGovern gave a breakdown of the luxury carmaker's "powerful symbols of change" that "follow this exact principle."
According to him, each symbol has meaning because they are the "original essence of Jaguar."
"The leaper–always leaping forward never backward," McGovern said. The monogram–our seal of approval. And our word mark is the future face of Jaguar. Strike through is another symbol and the name given to the horizontal wrought repeated throughout type 000. It symbolizes Jaguar's desire to strike thru convention."
The cars are available to buy and it was unclear if they would evolve out of the concept phase.
According to Jaguar, its vehicle lineup will go fully electric starting in 2025.
