The Jaguar Type 00 Concept has been purposefully made to incite a reaction, but isn’t that genius?
Jaguar recently officially showed off the Type 00 Concept, which gives us a glimpse of their new design and product direction. Many have found the overall direction to not be to their taste, and have been very vocal in rejecting the new Jaguar, bemoaning its ‘woke’ agenda and the lack of both masculine appeal and feline curves in the design. After considering the design, we have to disagree with the vocal majority and side with Jaguar. Here’s why.
They’re Not Selling To The Masses Anyway
Jaguar is a company that has been struggling for decades. Before being acquired and put under one umbrella with Land Rover, it was already struggling. And before Ford purchased it, it was struggling. Throughout its ‘bad’ years, the company stuck to its philosophy of design incredibly seductive feline-inspired designs with timeless masculine appeal.
That being said, sales of Jaguar products were never great and their last push had them go up against Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW directly with the XE, XF, I-Pace and F-Pace. And now that Mercedes-Benz, Audi and BMW are facing declining sales in key markets, Jaguar has made the correct decision to focus its efforts on fighting off its ‘British’ brethren that is positioned one rung up on the price ladder – Rolls-Royce and Bentley.
These two stodgy brands have enjoyed success selling low volume high luxury products to the multi-millionaire and billionaire class. It seems to me that Jaguar has the brand clout to go up against these two even though it’s technically a younger company.
While the majority may not find the design and direction appealing, they’re causing a massive ruckus. The Jaguar brand has finally re-entered the mainstream public discussion after decades of being a ‘side dish’. When their production car goes on sale, potential buyers will at least be curious to see what the brand has done. Think about it, do potential buyers of Rolls-Royce and Bentley vehicle even know or care about what those brands are doing right now? Do those brands even have an EV ready for sale? Even as an automotive enthusiast I can’t really remember if there’s a production ready EV from either of these brands. I remember it being talked about, but not in any exciting or meaningful way. Jaguar has flipped the script with this move and now even my parents are talking about this brand.
This Is Not The Final Product
Many are complaining about the ‘woke’, ‘DEI’ themed marketing campaign and the use of pink on the showcase car. It’s entirely possible that this was intentional. It’s just a concept car and cool looking concept cars in conventional ‘cool’ colours are a dime a dozen. Most are not even mentioned outside of a rehashed press release, which is sad but a reality when every car brand plays it safe.
Jaguar’s controversial concept car is mostly controversial for a colour choice… Given that cars are sold in a variety of colours, the pink show car shouldn’t really be an issue. They even showed one in teal that no one talks about, which proves the point that playing it safe would have caused no public discourse at all.
I’m sure the production model will continue to disappoint many, and may even be very close to this concept in looks. However, the target audience isn’t you or me, but the 1%. And the 1% already has a bunch of conservative looking cars to choose from. What Jaguar’s doing here is experimental and genuinely exciting. I hope they pull it off and enjoy some well-deserved success after so many years languishing.
