Despite its “copy nothing” tagline, Jaguar was already quick to point out that its Type 01 has “clear lineage to great Jaguars of the past including the E-type and the XJS.” Unfortunately for the British luxe brand, it looks nothing like those stunners. This one looks like a hyped-up cheese grater; a 5,235 mm long, 4-seater cheese grater.

Key to hiding the Type 01’s girth is down to the deliberate use of exaggerated lines including a small greenhouse and comically giant 23-inch wheels (it makes up about half of the vehicle’s overall height). As expected, the famous leaper’s gone and replaced by a new monogram at the center of each wheel. That’s not to say that Jaguar’s mascot has bitten the dust. On the contrary, it’s still there in the “Fender Ingot”—a side accent. The back is perhaps the most controversial bit with a glassless tailgate and a brake light that’s centrally located as opposed to being pushed to the corners.

There are some nifty design cues here, highlighting some industry-first concepts such as frameless doors that close directly against the body. The company calls this the “Impossible Gap” and uses a compressed-radius hemming technique that allows glass seals to be hidden, with no need for additional cosmetic trims. Meanwhile, the body side has a rear quarter panel that underwent a six-stage pressing process to achieve something evocative of a pen flick.

Inside, the Type 01 features a low seating position. Despite its huge exterior size, this one decided to waste space as a purely four-seater grand tourer thanks to a central spine that runs the full length of the cabin. The spine also happens to house brass-colored storage bins and cup holders. The same brass-colored finish is repeated on the top of the doors and runs the entire length of the cabin. It’s an interesting set piece and we can’t wait for Chinese brands to copy it in six months.

The front seats feature 12 ways of power adjustment with heating and cooling. The rear seats, meanwhile, are also heated and cooled and offer a 50/50 split-folding function. A panoramic glass roof with a “virtual blind” is standard.

The driver receives a 24-inch OLED screen that extends towards the center. This combines the vehicle instrumentation and infotainment controls. A secondary 7-inch screen sits between the front passengers allowing access to commonly used controls. A similar 7-inch screen is found at the back as well. The Type 01 makes do without exposed speakers and uses a Meridian 13-speaker “Panoramic Soundbar” located at the base of the windshield and 25 speakers concealed around the cabin.

Riding on a brand-new architecture, the Jaguar Electric Architecture, the all-electric Type 01 is the most powerful Jaguar ever. The tri-motor setup offers 1,030 horsepower (757 kW) and 1,365 Nm of torque. A 118-kWh lithium-ion battery offers up to 720 kilometers of WLTP range. Helping extend this is a “inverter deactivation technology” that allows this grand tourer to switch to a single axle operation when performance isn’t required. This alone adds up to 29 kilometers of range. An 850-volt architecture allows for ultra-quick charging adding 321 kilometers of range in just 13 minutes (10 to 80 percent charge in 22 minutes). It also has intelligent split-charging capability too.

On paper, the Type 01 already nails the driving fundamentals with its low center of gravity, but to keep all that power properly channeled onto the pavement, engineers have fitted it with air suspension as standard. The adaptive nature of the suspension allows it to adjust the dampers 1,000 times per second to deliver comfort and handling in equal measure.

In terms of safety, the JEA allows the Type 01 to have over-the-air updates. It helps push and improve on its suite of ADAS which uses 10 external cameras and 12 ultrasonic sensors. And compared to its rivals, designers have managed to hide it very well. The forward-facing radar is integrated behind the raised foil finish of the Jaguar device mark. And for optimal performance year-round, a heated element behind the badge maintains the perfect operating temperature even during heavy snow.

With the Type 01, Jaguar is aiming to scrub off its stodgy British image for something that’s akin to whatever modern luxury is. Whether or not the general public will receive it well enough remains to be seen. What matters is that the Type 01 is the start of the brand’s upmarket push and will cost upwards of USD 200,000 (P 13 million).