Jaguar’s New Type 01 EV Has a Cabin That Doesn’t Make Sense

Jaguar’s Big Reset Gets an Interior

Jaguar has been hyping up the Type 01 as the car to kick off its big, dramatic reboot. The luxury four-door GT got its official name earlier this year: ‘Type’ nods to Jaguar’s legendary classics, ‘0’ stands for zero tailpipe emissions, and ‘1’ marks the first of a new breed.

It’s also the first production Jaguar built on the brand’s dedicated Electric Architecture (JEA), which supposedly gives designers free rein with proportions and cabin layout.

Now, Jaguar has finally pulled back the curtain on the interior. And, well, it’s definitely not your average cabin. The inside follows the same design-obsessed approach as the exterior, with Jaguar calling it an ‘architectural’ space instead of a regular car interior.

A Cabin Built Around a Spine

The real showstopper here is the massive central spine that runs from the front all the way to the back. Jaguar says it carves out four individual zones, so everyone gets their own defined space instead of one big open cabin.

It definitely looks dramatic in these first images. The spine is finished in a brass-inspired look, with matching details along the tops of the doors. Jaguar’s also gone for a warm, earthy color scheme inspired by travertine stone and fancy textiles.

Up front, the dashboard is intentionally slim, with what looks like a center console for essential controls at the top of the spine. There’s also a ClearSight Rear View Display right at the base of the windshield, set at about the same height as the door mirrors.

There are also plenty of hidden compartments and secret tech features, though Jaguar isn’t spilling the details just yet. Overall, the design is as minimalist as the Type 01’s exterior, though the missing center infotainment display does pique our interest.

But Why Such a Huge Center Tunnel?

That giant center spine looks cool, sure, but it seems to eat up a ton of cabin space, especially at the back. For an EV, that feels like a step in the wrong direction. One of the big perks of electric platforms is the chance to rethink how you use interior space, especially between the seats. And yet, Jaguar has gone and planted a huge design feature smack in the middle of the cabin.

Jaguar clearly thinks this is a feature, not wasted space. The company says the spine highlights the car’s long, sleek character and makes the cabin feel more intimate and confidence-boosting.

Maybe there’s more to it than these carefully staged press shots let on. We’ll need to see the full interior, actually sit inside, and figure out how the space works before we make up our minds.

Luckily, we won’t have to wait long. The Type 01 prototype is set to show up at Pebble Beach Concours on August 16 during Monterey Car Week, with the full reveal happening in New York on October 6.