Polarizing or perfection? Jaguar chief defends controversial designs
British luxury carmaker Jaguar grabbed headlines last December when it introduced the Type 00 concept, an electric two-door grand tourer that looked wildly different from the brand's celebrated sports cars.
"We knew we needed to make a bold change, a bold move," Rawdon Glover, Jaguar's managing director, told ABC News.
Glover has crisscrossed the globe for nearly a year, meeting with car enthusiasts and Jaguar loyalists. Don't judge the Type 00 until they've seen it in person, he tells them. He repeats a famous quote from Sir William Lyons, the company's founder: "Jaguar should be a copy of nothing."
Will these new designs boost sales of the brand in the U.S.? Glover will find out next year, when the new model goes on sale.
He recently spoke to ABC News about the challenges of the rebranding, if Jaguar will continue with its electrification strategy and what's available now in Jaguar dealerships.
The interview below has been edited for clarity.
Q: When the Type 00 concept was unveiled last December at Art Basel Miami, it got mixed reviews. Has public reception changed? It's a very provocative design.
A: It's OK to be polarizing. We're not looking for everybody to say, "That's nice." I think great design does polarize, whether that's in fashion or architecture or whatever else. So having the confidence to say this is what we think the 21st century Jaguar should look like and then sticking to that is very important.
To see the car physically is very different than seeing it on a phone. People can see it [in person] and understand the proportions, the drama, the scale of the vehicle.
We've been to a whole series of events across the globe since Miami -- Monaco, Tokyo, London -- to show the vehicle. It's the best way to see it.
Q: Is this vehicle for the Chinese market? U.S. consumer?
A: We think the U.S. will be our biggest market. If I look back at Jaguar in its heyday, when Jaguar was most successful, the U.S. was our biggest market. There is a passion for the Jaguar brand here that's probably as strong as anywhere else in the globe. Understanding why we made such a bold change ... we were all of the view that [the brand] needed something much more drastic. There are some people who are like, "Is the Type 00 for me?" And there are other people who love it and go, "Bring it on."
The Type 00 shouldn't look like anything else on the road. When the E-Type landed in the 1960s in Geneva, it looked like it landed from Mars. There was nothing else that looked like that.
You need to look a little deeper into the DNA of the brand, what the essence of Jaguar is. We split the entire creative team into three groups. We said you have three months, make a new Jaguar design language. And it was competitive. From the very start we wanted the process to be disruptive because we wanted the vehicle design to be really distinctive and unexpected.
Q: Are longtime customers pleased with the new look of the brand?
A: I spend a lot of time with Jaguar enthusiasts. When you have the time to explain and really walk through why the Type 00 looks the way it does, they get it, they see it. I would say the vast majority [of customers] are positive. Trying to make a judgment on your phone or on social media, it's more nuanced than that.
Q: When was this decision made to take Jaguar in such a different direction?
A: 2021. We asked, what does Jaguar Land Rover need to do for the next 20 years? We knew we needed to make a bold change, a bold move.
People think about our recent history, where we've been in this volume premium segment. But that's actually not where Jaguar has thrived and not where it's existed in its 90 years of history. That's just the last two decades.
For us, we looked at those periods in our past when we were successful making beautiful sedans and sports cars, [producing] vehicles in smaller numbers. Vehicles that were really, really distinctive. The cars were critically acclaimed.
We can see from our Range Rover business model and top end of our Defender business model that having products at elevated price points -- if you've got a really compelling product -- is where we succeed. That's where Jaguar historically has succeeded. So we think we're taking it back to its natural habitat.
Q: Will you still be making sports cars?
A: Our first car [in the rebranding] will be a four-door GT. A very sporty vehicle that's similar to what you see today. And it will be the most powerful Jaguar ever.
Q: Are you still all-in on electrification?
A: We are [and] we have not gone down the stereotypical path of what a lot of other EVs have done. They tend to be characterized by high riding, a stacked battery, tiny wheels because that's good for range, but that doesn't make a compelling product for someone who wants to spend $130,000. We've got to create a car that has drama, has scale, has proportion ... that will create a real visceral reaction when people look at it. Because it's a Jaguar, it has to drive really well. And that's what we're also really excited about. There aren't many EVs that are really engaging to drive.
Q: When does production begin of this new GT?
A: We'll unveil it next year and start taking orders. Then deliveries will start relatively soon after that.
Q: Can someone can still walk into a Jaguar dealership now and buy an F-Pace SUV?
A: For the next 18 months or so you will still be able to buy a Jaguar. We are gradually ceasing production of all the production vehicles. The F-Pace will be the last one. We wanted to do a complete reset.
We'll gracefully retire the Type 00 to hopefully [laughs] a preeminent art gallery.
