I live on a farm. We are actually looking at getting a few pigs. And I say this with genuine affection for the animal: the moment I saw the Type 01 in its Miami Pink debut colours, I knew exactly what I was looking at. Round snout up front. Wide, soft haunches. A fat round rear end that just sort of... sits there. A complexion that Jaguar's own people called Miami Pink, though the brass tones that inspired it apparently age into a colour that brass takes on when it oxidises. Sure. Whatever they want to call it. I know what I see.
From this point forward, I will be calling the Jaguar Type 01 by its proper name. The Pig.
And before anyone writes in: I love pigs. Smart animals. Curious. Expressive. None of that makes The Pig a good Jaguar.
Let me be clear about something. The Cybertruck was a shock, yes. A stainless steel wedge that looked like it had been designed by someone who had only ever seen a truck described in a text file. But Tesla was never a company with a design legacy to betray. Elon turned up with something mad and angular and nobody was surprised because Tesla had never given anyone reason to expect otherwise.
Jaguar is the company that made the E-Type. Enzo Ferrari stood at the Geneva Motor Show in 1961 and said, out loud, that a British car was the most beautiful in the world. That car wore a Jaguar badge. The Museum of Modern Art in New York put one in its permanent collection. Not as a vehicle. As a work of art.
The same company has now revealed a production car with a glassless rear end, a blunt upright snout, a body that squats wide and low like something that would be comfortable in mud, and a flagship colour called Miami Pink. Jaguar describes its design philosophy as "Exuberant Modernism." I would describe the result as a pig in a very expensive trench coat.
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Now. In fairness, Jaguar has stumbled before. The X-Type was a Ford Mondeo wearing a cravat. TIME Magazine put it on its list of the 50 worst cars ever made. The S-Type wore its retro styling like a costume that never quite fit. These were bad years, built under Ford ownership, and they embarrassed the badge. But even at the worst of it, you could still see a design team trying to be Jaguar.
The Pig is not trying to be Jaguar. Managing Director Rawdon Glover has said plainly that the powertrain is "about 13th on the list" for the buyers they are targeting. Jaguar has acknowledged it expects to lose 85 percent of its existing customer base in this transition. That is not a rebrand. That is a company walking out on itself and leaving a note on the kitchen table.
The numbers are real enough. Over 1,000 horsepower from three motors. A 120 kWh battery on 850V architecture. More than 400 miles of claimed range. Prices starting somewhere north of £100,000 and heading toward £150,000. It will be built in the UK, revealed in full later in 2026, and deliveries will start in 2027. Prototypes were trotting around Monaco this week for the Formula E round, wearing camouflage that, if anything, made the shape look more appealing than it will at full reveal.
Some reviewers who have ridden in prototypes describe a car that feels genuinely fast and capable. I believe them. The Pig may well drive beautifully.
It is still The Pig.
So, readers, I hope you'll join me. When someone mentions the Jaguar Type 01, you know what to call it. There is a long and noble tradition in motoring of giving cars the names they actually deserve. The Jaguar E-Type was called the E-Type. This one has earned something more descriptive.
The Pig it is.
Sources:
- Jaguar Media — Type 01 Name Announcement
- Jaguar Media — Type 00 Unveil, Miami Art Week
- Motor1 — Jaguar's New EV Finally Has A Name: Type 01
- Dezeen — Exclusive photos, Jaguar Type 00 at Miami Art Week
- Autoblog — Jaguar Type 01 Is the Official Name of the Car That Will Lead Jaguar's Reboot
- TIME Magazine — 2001 Jaguar X-Type, The 50 Worst Cars of All Time