The New Era Of Jaguar Arrives With The Type 01

McLaren W1 First Drive: Ferocious Hypercar Transcends the Track

You know things are getting serious when McLaren rolls-out the ‘1’ suffix. The origin story is, of course, the very first road car McLaren ever built, the F1. Designed by visionary Formula 1 aerodynamicist and engineer Gordon Murray, it arrived in 1992 and rendered all other supercars obsolete. The tiny, lightweight F1 embraced carbon-fibre material technology, adopted a radical centre seat driving position with two passengers set back and either side and was powered by a 6.1-litre V12 engine from BMW that might as well have been passed down directly from the Gods. Game-changer? That doesn’t even come close to describing its impact, even if at the time sales didn’t come easy… The P1 was very different. Rather than a unique side project from the Formula 1 team, it was instead a statement piece for McLaren Automotive, a new road car division still in its infancy. It arrived in 2013 and was a wild-eyed showstopper. It traded the long-legged gait and supple suspension of the F1 for a weaponized hybrid system capable of delivering 903bhp and huge blue flames from its drainpipe exhaust. In Race mode, it lowered by 2-inches and its massive concave rear wing extended into the sky. The P1 was all about aerodynamic downforce, crazed acceleration and a snorting, angry soundtrack that mixed venomous twin-turbocharged V8 with the manic whirr of electric motors. Not so much a car as a force of nature. And now there’s this: The W1. It’s a true successor to the P1 with a similar brief and, on the face of it, it evolves rather than radically reinvents McLaren’s vision for the ultimate hypercar. This is not a criticism. How could it be when the result is this dramatic and has such staggering, other-worldly potential? The W1 has 1258bhp delivered to the rear wheels. It’s capable of 0-124 mph in 5.8-seconds, the quarter mile in 9.6-seconds at 167 mph and produces 2205lbs of downforce at 174 mph. The active aerodynamics – particularly a rear wing that extends way out beyond the rear of the car – are pure performance art and deliver massive aerodynamic efficiency. The result, aside from looking extremely cool, is that the W1 is McLaren’s fastest road car around a racetrack. Ever. Their benchmark circuit is the breath-taking Handling Track at the Nardo proving ground in southern Italy, where the W1 beats their previous benchmark, the flyweight McLaren Senna, by three seconds per lap. Or “a lifetime” as they call it in racing. Maybe two lifetimes! Core to the W1’s performance is the new ‘Aerocell’ carbon fibre tub. With integrated seats and a raised footwell to allow for inboard pushrod-operated front suspension – which in turn gives air a clean path to the huge underbody diffuser – it’s light, stiff, space efficient and has been instrumental in McLaren realising a full ground-effect concept. Just like last year’s F1 cars, which were the fastest ever made. There is also an active front wing and the aforementioned complex rear wing dubbed ‘Active Long Tail’. All of which is very admirable. But the ‘anhedral’ or gullwing doors and the fantastically shirnked-wrapped feel to the minimalist, highly-focussed interior are a pretty good side effect. The W1 feels special. Those fixed seats are perhaps a shade more upright than expected, and the driving position is less obviously racecar than, for example, the Aston Martin Valhalla or Ferrari F80. However, once you’ve adjusted the pedals (they move on a slider) and the delicate, slim-rimmed and alcantara-trimmed steering wheel, there’s an overwhelming sense of purpose. The cabin is so tightly tailored and imparts a sense of lightness and agility before you so much as start the all-new 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8 engine, which makes 916bhp all on its own and revs to 9200rpm. Reach up to a roof-mounted control panel to find the starter button. Maybe this fighter plane trope is a little corny, but somehow you feel thrilled rather than manipulated. The W1 has a sense of humour as well as all that motorsport-derived sophistication. There’s a short delay, but when the engine does fire it’s instant – as the high-powered hybrid system negates the need for an old-school starter motor. A sharp flare of revs tells you that this engine is hyper-responsive and angry. On some deep level your brain and body have been sent all the signals required to prepare for something new and intense. Ahead of us, an empty Mugello racetrack, so press and hold the blue button next to the red starter to select Race mode. The centre display graphic shows the W1’s transformation in real time as it lowers by 37mm at the front and 17mm at the rear whilst simultaneously undocking all that active aero goodness. Race mode is not road legal and is geo-locked. You can show your friends and neighbours the aero dance, but it won’t allow you to select a gear to actually drive unless you’re at a circuit. Incidentally, the rocker switches either side of the display binnacle allow further options now: Toggle up the Handling control on the left for Race+ (for F1-spec super smooth tracks) or stick to Race for gnarlier ones. On the right toggle select ‘GP’ for sustained performance over a stint or ‘Sprint’ to unleash all 1258bhp for a time attack. There’s also a DRS and Boost function on the steering wheel. But I guarantee you won’t have the mental capacity to use them… Exit the pitlane, pin the throttle and W1 takes maybe a millisecond or two to gather its might (the gearing stretches to around 60mph in first, nearly 100mph in second, primarily to aid traction), but then lunges at the first turn with incredible ferocity. It instantly feels light, almost like inertia is no longer a thing. McLaren really does prize lightweight engineering, and at 3084lbs (dry) the W1 has a 278lbs advantage over the Ferrari F80. Plus, Ferrari uses figures for cars fitted with every single carbon fibre option. In reality, the gap is probably wider still. The impression of agility and stunning control continues as the track is unravelled at startling pace. The electric motor mounted to the side of the new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission is good for 342bhp and 324lb ft and it boosts any low rev lethargy the new flat-plane crank V8 might have (spoiler alert: It doesn’t appear to have any), so the W1 just feels massively, almost impossibly powerful at any revs. Even so, there’s real reward for wringing it out to 9200rpm and the power curve feels superheated but organic, too. In Race mode the steering – still hydraulically powered – has less assistance and it is noticeably heavier than other McLarens. However, that resistance is welcome as it gives you something to push against and imparts so much information about the front grip level. New Pirelli Trofeo RS tyres with a bigger front footprint than P1 or Senna really help. The front-end feels incredibly secure and the rear-axle follows with perfectly-aligned precision. The whole car feels super-stiff, completely locked into the surface and inspires confidence, but there’s an inherent agility and adjustability that means you’re quickly confident to push at its limits and really impose yourself on the chassis. It’s such a complex car but the driving experience is intuitive, and the driver feels a key contributor rather than just amazed (or terrified) observer, holding on for dear life. Every dynamic ingredient really is shockingly effective and yet has a subtlety and lightness of touch. From that delicious steering to the incredible brakes, the W1 just feels so mission-focussed, so hooked-up. Only the new 8-speed gearbox is a slightly disappointment. It’s fast and punchy, but after the scintillating energy of the Ferrari F80 ’box it feels competent rather than inspired. Other quibbles – it’s okay to quibble when the starting price is $2.1-million before tax and destination charge. Well, that new twin-turbocharged V8 sounds tightly wound and aggressive but if you have a P1 tucked in the garage you’ll miss the snorting, Darth Vader-style soundscape and all the drama that goes with it. Ferrari does this better, too. The F80 sounds deathly dull from the outside but is a riot of turbochargers, electric motors and all sorts of mechanical fury within the cockpit. Even so, the W1 is wildly entertaining on track, and the rear-drive configuration makes it more of a challenge and more satisfying than the F80 when chasing lap times or just sliding around for fun. In the Ferrari, you must second-guess what the front e-axle might do, whereas in the W1 it’s all on you. There are plenty of tools to help, including the ingenious Variable Drift Control, but somehow the W1 is more heroic. Or at least fools you into feeling more heroic – which is surely the point! On the road? Nimble, loaded with feel and sublime response. The ride is noticeably tougher than, say, a 750S but the control is ramped-up too, and with a bit more speed the whole car finds a delicious rhythm. Sport mode for the drivetrain brings some nice turbo whooshes and chirps, but the noise remains high-quality rather than extreme excitement. It is perhaps the one area the W1 feels just a little too tame. Of course, there’s nothing tame about the raw performance… which is genuinely shocking and literally hurts your neck muscles after a few hours. How McLaren has given the W1 such immense traction through just two driven wheels is beyond me. So, is it worthy of that ‘1’? I think so. Perhaps we won’t be talking about $25-million auction results for the W1 in 30 years from now, as we are for the F1. Perhaps it doesn’t quite have the amazing presence and jaw-dropping star quality of the simply gorgeous P1. But it is such an intense experience and the way it marries stunning track performance with delicate poise and entertainment on normal roads is something akin to magic. Maybe not ‘the one’ but definitely a searing, outrageous addition to McLaren’s fiercest family line. Just 399 W1’s will be built and they’re all sold. I’m not surprised at all. View All McLarens For Sale Images: McLaren Automotive

The New Era Of Jaguar Arrives With The Type 01

Buzzworthy for years before its reveal, the talked-about Jaguar is finally pouncing.

Jaguar has been lying in wait. It’s been years since the manufacturer unveiled a new model, and the brand all but went dormant for some time. In its hibernation, Jaguar suddenly revealed completely changed branding: a new wordmark, a revised Leaper, and its “Copy Nothing” ethos, all set against backgrounds full of vivid color. Subsequently, the manufacturer unveiled its Type 00 concept, a dramatic all-electric grand tourer with futuristic minimalism, dramatic proportions, and massive butterfly doors.

After the Type 00 concept made appearances across the globe, a new production Jaguar broke cover, albeit in camouflage. With over 1,000 horsepower and the goal of bringing Jaguar’s philosophy of grand touring models with elegance and power in equal measure to the modern day, the new model’s name was revealed to be the Type 01. The name represents a bold new age for the iconic British luxury manufacturer, and, at long last, that age begins today.

Already talked about throughout the automotive world for years before today’s launch, Jaguar’s new Type 01 has decades of expectations to live up to, and several questions to answer. To that end, Jaguar chose to reveal its new grand tourer in New York City, with digital displays in Times Square, Dumbo, and the Lower East Side, and a dynamic arrival at West Chelsea’s STORIED, serendipitously located in zip code 10001.

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Unlike the Type 00 Concept, the Type 01 is a four-door grand tourer. Besides that, though, the production model looks strikingly similar to the concept that preceded it. The car features a long hood, a decidedly minimal silhouette, a low roofline, and an undeniably dramatic stance. The production model features concept-like design drama thanks to Jaguar taking a design-first approach with the Type 01. The manufacturer started with a clean-sheet design and built a car around its beauty, refusing to compromise.

Painstakingly refined with virtual and wind tunnel testing, the Type 01 is the most aerodynamic production Jaguar yet, at 0.23 Cd. Alongside 50:50 weight distribution, that figure represents some of the groundbreaking engineering behind Jaguar’s bold new grand touring EV. For Jaguar, no existing platform, architecture, or technology could quite accommodate what the manufacturer wanted to achieve with the Type 01, so the car’s new JEA (Jaguar Electric Architecture) was created in-house. Its technical advancement is highlighted by the fact that Jaguar has over 360 patent applications for technology in the Type 01.

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The drivetrain utilizes three motors and a 118-kWh battery, with a total of 1,015 horsepower and 1,007 lb/ft of torque. The new Jaguar Type 01 is capable of a 3.1-second 0-60 time and, for moments like overtaking, a 4.0-second acceleration from 60 to 112 mph. Rather than focusing purely on straight-line acceleration, Jaguar created the Type 01 to deliver refined, yet compelling performance. Rear-axle steering provides dynamics that defy the tourer’s length, and the gear ratios are inspired by Formula E, but are refined for cruising.

Created with long, pleasurable drives in mind, the new Jaguar Type 01 boasts an estimated 400 miles of range. With 850-volt architecture, rapid DC charging can add 200 miles of driving range in as little as 13 minutes.

Jon Darlington, Architecture Chief Engineer at Jaguar, commented, “Type 01’s duality of character is testament to the hundreds of thousands of hours of development work by our engineering and vehicle dynamic teams on virtual simulators and proving grounds around the world.”

One of the most important ideas behind the design of the Jaguar Type 01 was to create a sense of occasion on every drive. As such, the interior features a four-seat layout, with a central spine that runs nearly the entire length of the cabin. The spine splits the interior into four individual spaces for each occupant, especially cocooning the driver with both luxury and performance in mind.

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A motif seen throughout is a brass-inspired finish, denoting the central spine and the tops of the doors. The new Jaguar Leaper is seen embossed within, against the Type 01’s new Strikethrough detail as a background. Rather than interrupt the dashboard with a large central screen, the Type 01 opts for a 24-inch screen ahead of the steering wheel, combining instrument displays with infotainment controls. Meant to be accessed by both the driver and passenger, a seven-inch, smartphone-style screen is placed in the center for intuitive controls like climate and audio settings. The rear passengers share another seven-inch screen for comfort settings as well.

The rear seats, which feature 50:50 split folding capability, are also heated and cooled, and the cabin enjoys the open-air feeling of a panoramic glass roof with a standard adjustable virtual blind feature. The new Jaguar Type 01, like its Type 00 concept counterpart, distinguishingly lacks rear glass. In lieu of a rear-view mirror and rear glass, the Type 01 features a ClearSight Rear View Display, placed on the dashboard rather than in the conventional placement of a rear-view mirror.

Also on the dashboard is a Panoramic Soundbar, offering a luxurious and high-quality sound experience while elegantly hiding the speakers rather than using prominently visible speaker grilles. Helping accommodate rear-seat passengers comfortably, the rear floor is lowered to preserve the dramatically low roofline. Jaguar achieved this by removing battery cells that would otherwise sit under the rear floor, placing 32 cells between the A-pillar and the front axle.

Jaguar’s strikethrough detail can be seen on the dashboard of the Type 01, not only introducing a beautiful design element, but also tying together the visuals of the interior and exterior, as the strikethrough comes across the windshield, stretching towards the hood of the car.

GALLERY-EMBED

One of the first noticeable details of the Type 01’s exterior is the long hood and dramatic proportions. While Jaguar set out to create the Type 01 unafraid to defy convention, its history informed some of the new EV’s design choices, namely the legendary E-Type and the XJS. The Type 01 aims to honor its predecessors by, like them, introducing something new and different to the automotive world. Jaguar chose to highlight the Type 01’s proportions with what it calls its “luxury gap,” an immense, nearly three-foot space between the center of the front wheel and the front door. Sitting directly within that gap is the Type 01’s “Fender Ingot,” a brass-inspired detail featuring the iconic Jaguar Leaper and the car’s signature strikethrough detail, just like the interior.

23-inch wheels come as standard on the Jaguar Type 01, while 21-inch wheels are also available. At the center of all of them lie Jaguar’s new monogram logo. Going to great lengths for its stunning minimalism, the Type 01 features flush-mounted door handles and a single rear quarter panel that stretches from the top of the A-pillar to the rear of the car. Named the “Impossible Panel,” it features subtle contours reminiscent of the flick of a pen and requires a six-stage pressing process.

“With Type 01, we wanted to create something where every journey is an occasion, from how it looks to how it drives and how it makes occupants feel. Type 01 will never arrive unnoticed,” says Andrew Wheel, JLR Design Development Director.

The slimmest headlights on a Jaguar yet are the jewelry of the Type 01’s new front fascia. Framing the Strikethrough in the center, the four lines formed by the headlight assemblies give the new Type 01 an unmistakable face. Active vanes give the vehicle an elegant look when they are closed, but open to provide cooling and airflow for the propulsion system and brakes.

The rear of the vehicle is defined by its lack of glass, evoking a powerful, monolithic sense, with rear lights that are hidden until they are on. The color palette consists of both gloss and satin finishes, each giving the striking design of the new Type 01 a slightly different personality. Visionary Silver, Dramatic White, Iconic Black, Compelling Blue, and Refined Grey are available in gloss finishes, while Modernist Blue and Mesmerizing Copper are available in Satin.

Meanwhile, the Type 01 Design Vision Edition features Visionary Silver Satin, along with unique wheels for a distinct look. In addition, Jaguar’s Chromatic Moments collection for the Type 01 nods to some of the striking iterations of the Type 00 concept car, showcasing the Type 01 in the Type 00’s London Red and French Ultramarine. The special collection is limited to just 60 examples globally.

The interior color palette for the new Jaguar Type 01 is divided into “Stories,” combining Kvadrat wool-blend fabric with leather or Ultrafabrics™ NeoGrain. The Light Story uses Dusk Grey, the Dark Story uses Dark Oyster, and the Original Story, for the ‘Curated by Jaguar’ Design Vision Edition, uses Orchid White.

Mary Crisp, Chief Materiality Designer at Jaguar, commented, “The subtle play of light and shadow is complemented by moments of bold color throughout the cabin which give even the simplest of actions, such as opening a storage area, a sense of drama and theater.”

Designed, engineered, and built in the UK, the new Jaguar Type 01 is a bold reintroduction to the automotive world of one of its favorite brands. Like its predecessors, the new Type 01 provides performance and luxury in generous proportions, with stunning looks and innovation to match. “From its dramatic design to its captivating drive, Type 01 distils the essence of Jaguar into a luxury grand tourer for a new era,” says Rawdon Glover, Jaguar’s Managing Director.

Actress Florence Pugh is the first brand ambassador for Jaguar’s new era, with British singer-songwriter Sienna Spiro performing at the new Type 01’s unveiling event. Orders are set to open for the new Type 01 in early 2027. With deliveries set to take place in the second half of that year, prices are expected to start at $130,500, offering buyers immense power and head-turning looks for their money when compared to luxury performance EVs of a similar caliber. With the cover finally broken on the new Type 01 four-door grand tourer, Jaguar has returned.

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Image Source: JLR

Tyler Rampersaud