Jaguar only looks forward

You may have seen that Jaguar is undergoing a rebrand. Perhaps you didn’t and saw only the ensuing fall out from said rebrand, when the 90-year-old British car manufacturer had the temerity to release a diversely-cast commercial and sent the ​“go woke and go broke” brigade into some sort of a pastel-hued meltdown. Instagram comments underneath the company’s post ranged from questioning whether Jaguar was now a ​“skincare brand”, to implying it had undergone a pronoun change. There hasn’t been a fuss like this since Lashana Lynch became the first Black woman to play 007 in 2021 (a problem for another storied British car manufacturer, perhaps).

The ad, which featured a new slogan (“copy nothing”), a new typeface (a pedant’s nightmare of upper and lowercase) and, most offensively, no car (no car!), was released into the world just weeks after a Trump victory in the US was blamed on a Democratic obsession with ​“identity politics”. Would the rebrand have been received differently had the Kamala/​Walz ticket triumphed? Hard to say, but we do famously exist in the context.

So, how do you solve a problem like an overnight change in cultural climate?

It’s telling that the manufacturer chose Miami Art Week for the global launch of its first rebranded car: the ​“Type 00”. This is Jaguar as an objet d’art (there’s already an E‑type in the MoMa, don’t you know); an attempt by the brand to capture the kind of shock and awe that greeted its earliest models (overseen by its founder Sir William Lyons; a man who believed his cars artforms that should be a ​“copy of nothing”).

It worked, too: a friend, and Ferrari employee, who knew that THE FACE would be present, reached out to clarify if images that had leaked online before the reveal were in fact real, as the Ferrari automotive team were ​“very curious”. Of course we could neither confirm nor deny, what do you take us for?

Gathered early evening in Jungle Plaza, a fuchsia-lit outdoor space in Miami’s Design District, Gerry McGovern, chief creative officer of Jaguar Land Rover (Jaguar’s parent group) spoke directly to a crowd that included Ibby Njoya, Campbell Addy, Yagamoto and Patience Harding – artists chosen by Jaguar to present exhibitions alongside the reveal. Much like the pair of E‑types that were showcased to an audience in Geneva in 1961, two models were unveiled in the heart of the art district.

“Jaguar has no desire to be loved by everybody,” McGovern said, in perhaps the understatement of the year. ​“It has already stirred emotions, and it will continue to, because that is what fearless creativity does. This is the original essence of Jaguar.”

Then came the cars (yes, there are cars!). Cocktails and champagne flutes were abandoned on random surfaces, everyone shuffling closer to the stage eager to get a glimpse of the models satin finish in ​“Miami Pink” and ​“London Blue” (the general consensus on the ground was that ​“London Blue” was the favourite of the two hues, although a gold model is apparently in the works). The pink, a celebration of Miami’s exuberant energy, and the blue, an ode to Jaguar’s British heritage.

Now, reader, we are much more accustomed to describing the latest fashions of Paris and Milan, than we are the fastback panoramic rooflines of major vehicle launches. So we’ll tell it as we saw it: smooth, sculpted, dramatic but balanced, with doors that open like butterfly wings. The rear, perhaps the boldest feature, is all tapering lines and slight curves, accentuating the total length of the car and bringing it to five metres (maybe we could get into motor reporting?).

The interior is where things get really interesting: three brass lines continue all through the car, and locally sourced brass is applied to much of the detailing (Jaguar do love their brass), while stone is used as a plinth and sits beneath the seats (because of its cooling nature, apparently).

The whole thing’s fully electric. In fact, all upcoming Jaguars will be fully electric; a bold punt on the future that you imagine has got Elon Musk’s goat just as much as the DEI casting of its ad. (Side note: the Miami Pink and London Blue styles are concept cars, meaning they’re essentially models that include all of the cool features the team has plucked from their brains and executed – a more refined Type 00 won’t hit the roads until 2026).

Was it enough to silence the naysayers? The heat has certainly died down since that initial launch a couple of months ago. Perhaps it shouldn’t though – you certainly can’t create something ​“bold, dramatic and fearless”– Gerry McGovern’s apparent brief to the design team – without causing a few pastel-hued meltdowns.

Look forward, we say. It’s much more fun.