Jaguar's Name For Its Electric Four-Door GT Isn't Exactly Inspiring

Jaguar is at the beginning of a much-needed rebrand, stripping away the tired, heritage-laden products it was making in favor of an all-new lineup meant to go after Bentley rather than BMW, and it's being spearheaded by a striking — yet delightfully controversial — flagship electric vehicle. So far, we've only seen the two-door coupe concept vehicle, called the Type 00. Much of the information about the production sedan is under wraps, but we've finally learned what it'll be called, and unfortunately, it's not quite as bold as the rest of the car. I mean, what sort of name do you give a car meant to represent an entire automaker reset? Well, if you're Jaguar, it's Type 01. No, I'm not joking. What sort of crap is that?

There's nothing bold, inspired, imaginative or even interesting about "Type 01." This car is supposed to be a departure from Jags of old, yet it's even keeping the same sort of "Type" naming conventions. Sure, it's at the front of the name now, rather than the end, but you get my point. Type 01 is a calculator's name — not the name of a flagship, 1,000-horsepower ultra-luxury electric grand tourer.

If you couldn't tell, I'm a bit annoyed, but Jaguar has its justifications for why it went with the name it did. In a statement, the company said that the four-door's name — which will appear on the "strikethrough motif where the bonnet meets the windscreen" in a "bold linear" graphic — points to both the company's heritage and its future.

"Type," as I mentioned earlier, is a reference to the Jaguars of old. It actually first started with the Le Mans-winning C-type in 1951 and was last seen on the F-Type. The "0" is a reference to the fact that the GT will produce zero tailpipe emissions, which is a very 2008-style of automotive branding, and the "1" represents the first in a new generation of vehicles.

It's not clear if the next car will be the Type 02 or not, but I was sort of hoping car companies were done with naming their EVs in chronological order. I guess Jaguar just needs to get it out of its system.

Still, I refuse to let this bummer of a name get me down. After all, this absolute beast is set to put out nearly 1,000 horsepower and 1,000 pound-feet of torque, and Jaguar says — in true grand touring fashion — the car will be able to cover about 400 miles of driving on a single charge, thanks to a massive 123 kWh battery. It's hard not to get excited about numbers like that.

Right now, the Type 01 is still under wraps, but Jag says it'll be revealed fully later this year, and I can't wait, despite the fact that it's got a trash-ass boring name.