Jaguar Turns Knightsbridge Flagship Into Architectural Showcase for Type 01

Jaguar has completed a full interior redesign of its flagship store in Knightsbridge, central London, repositioning the space as a brand destination rather than a conventional car showroom. The project was led by Jaguar Land Rover’s spatial brand design team, and the store is currently the only place in the world where members of the public can see the Type 01, the brand’s newly launched production electric car.

From showroom to destination

Senior manager Nick Rolls, who heads the spatial brand design team, said the intention was to create a “physical expression” of the new Jaguar and to move away from the traditional showroom format. In his description, the store is meant to bring together architecture, culture, hospitality and craftsmanship, with London chosen as the setting for that vision.

The ground floor is deliberately dominated by hospitality rather than cars. Only two display bays are provided, one of which currently holds the Type 01. The rest of the floor is given over to Café Eighty-One, a restaurant by Michelin-starred chef Michael O’Hare, finished in deep red upholstery with benches running around the perimeter and booths lining the front facade.

A London palette

The extensive use of red is a direct response to the site’s context. Rolls said the tones were drawn from the red-brick architecture prevalent across Knightsbridge and surrounding neighbourhoods, framing the palette as a way of anchoring the interior to its London setting. He described the brand’s design philosophy as “exuberant modernism”, with colour used to build atmosphere and a sense of occasion.

Materials that mirror the car

Elsewhere in the store, the material and colour choices are tied directly to the interior of the Type 01. Travertine, tactile textiles and warm brass reference the car’s cabin, while sculptural forms, composed lighting and strong geometry carry over the design language of the vehicle. Rolls said the relationship between store and car was deliberate, built on shared ideas of materiality and craftsmanship.

The lower ground level houses the commercial functions: private spaces for sales, meetings and customisation discussions. One room, the Design Vault, is finished entirely in rich navy blue, offering a contrast to the red-toned public floor above.

Why it matters for design readers

The project is a case study in how automotive brands are rethinking retail architecture as their products go electric, shifting investment from transactional showrooms to hospitality-led spaces designed to hold visitors who may never buy a car. For interiors and retail-design readers, the scheme also illustrates a growing trend of flagship stores borrowing the material palette of the products they sell, and of high-end restaurants operating inside retail flagships as traffic drivers in their own right.

Context: the Type 01 and the brand reset

The Type 01 launched earlier this year as the production version of the Type 00 concept, the polarising car unveiled in 2024 alongside a rebrand that Jaguar described as a “complete reset”. The Knightsbridge redesign is the physical counterpart to that repositioning, and Rolls said the goal is for visitors to leave with a deeper understanding of the brand and see Jaguar “through a new lens”.

Key facts

What remains open

Details on the project’s architect of record, fit-out contractors and budget were not disclosed in the available reporting, and the material is based on Jaguar Land Rover’s own descriptions of the scheme. Readers planning a visit should check opening arrangements directly with the store, as public access to the Type 01 display depends on the current rotation of vehicles.

Source: Dezeen, https://www.dezeen.com/2026/11/02/jaguar-flagship-store-knightsbridge-london-type-01/