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Just read this news update on the Drive that the venerable Ian Callum is leaving Jaguar as its head of design. I find this sad news indeed as Ian's designs really have injected life back into the Jaguar range, helping it shake off its anemic reputation from the Ford ownership era.
Just reading the article you can see that the man has had quite a role to play in auto design for the last 3 decades with some clear standouts. To name but a few of my favourite designs of his in the order they first come to mind:
1. CX-75 (alas it never lived but in Spectre at least we got to see it used in anger)
2. F-type
3. XJ (I kinda wish Modi would ride around in the VIP spec XJ that the British PM uses because it would in a sense be linked to an Indian parent company no?)
4. Aston's modern era silhouette basically (I won't get into the debate about Fisker vs Callum - besides I'm more a fan of Marek Reichman's work, even got to meet him!) think we can all agree that Ian knows how to pen a front engined coupe
5. XF actually - it might seem humble but back when it was introduced as the first new Jag under Tata ownership I was quite stoked because it was obviously so different to the existing German marques at the time. Seems he agrees too:
Quote:
Ahead of his leaving, Callum bid a farewell to the company by saying, “I have had an incredible career at Jaguar. One of my biggest highlights was creating XF because it represented the beginning of a new era moving Jaguar from tradition to contemporary design – it was a significant turning point in our story."
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Linked article:
https://www.thedrive.com/news/28374/...after-20-years Quote:
Jaguar has stated that Julian Thomson will be promoted to Director of Design following Callum’s departure. That said, Jaguar will keep Callum on as a Design Consultant.
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Good to see that Ian is being retained in some capacity. I don't know much about his replacement but calling back to my line about Ian knowing how to shape a nice long bonnet and raked back windscreen I guess as Jag pivots to fully embrace the electric era it's a wise choice to have a new direction and thinking to embody the Jag look moving forward. All I can say to Ian is thanks.
What were your favourite thoughts about Ian's body of work?
Thread moved from the Assembly Line to the International Scene. Thanks for sharing!
There is a beautifully penned article on the internet on how he fought with the internal team at Jaguar to bring back Salsa Red to Jaguar's colour palette because a sports car (the XKR it was I think or was it the F type? ) needed to have red at least as an option. They eventually dropped one of the numerous greys they had in their colour palette to bring back Salsa red. What a fantastic colour!How many designers would one know of who would dare go against popular opinion in their company to bring back a colour? Speaks volumes of his passion. Here's the link.
https://www.wardsauto.com/industry/j...save-salsa-red
Beautifully old school sense of design, still in touch with modern. The 2009 XF is truly one of his landmark breakthrough designs, better than the current gen I daresay. Just look at it to realise how beautifully it has aged.
Good luck to him on his future endeavours. He's one of the finest designers in my eyes, the current generation XJ when it launched literally blew the competition away in terms of design and still remains a gorgeous looking luxo-barge inspite of its age. And the F-Type is one of the finest designs for a coupe/roadster in modern times.
While I am a big fan of Jaguar's classic designs, I have to hand it to Ian Callum for taking Jaguar's design forward to where it is today. Almost everything he has designed for Jaguar has been stunning. The F-Type is one of the most desirable convertibles around and the XE is a car I'd love to own sometime. However, the three most special cars under Callum's tenure have to be the XF, XJ and the XK.
Coupe-like grace in a 4-door sedan. Very different from what we had seen before:
Is there any sedan the stirs emotions like and XJ? I don't think so:
The XK was a proper GT. It may be an Aston rip-off, but it's still gorgeous:
He will be missed, had the privilege of meeting him briefly during the Range Rover launch in Morocco. The manner in which he related the design philosophy of the old Range Rover into the current RR Vogue was astounding.
Have listened to some podcasts where he has been interviewed. A very humble person who recognises others good designs also.
All is not lost, he will be around on other projects. Change is necessary!
CALLUM is the name of the consultancy firm to be set up by Ian Callum.
Simply named Callum, which will work in automotive and luxury-goods design.
Link
Aston Martin Callum Vanquish 25 Production Model Revealed
The car will be built starting September with initial cars destined for Europe and Latin America.
The Vanquish 25 by R-Reforged is offered with eight trim colours, three transmission variants - manual, auto and semi-automatic. Leather trim on the Callum Vanquish 25 is provided by Bridge of Weir Leather Company
Aston Martin Callum Vanquish 25 gets a 5.9-litre V-12 engine making 580bhp of power.
Ian Callum, Founder, Callum Designs, said, The designers, engineers and craftspeople have poured all their energy into breathing new life into the car, pushing the boundaries of every detail. I'm particularly impressed with how it drives.
https://www.carandbike.com/news/asto...vealed-2269158
Quote:
Originally Posted by Aditya
(Post 4599784)
Is there any sedan the stirs emotions like and XJ?
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agree: The XJ when launched had an uphill task to take on the S and 7 but it just won your heart with its design inside out. It was just too hard to get your eyes of the car. It stood out without being loud or overtly flashy. That perfect blend of bling and elegance. Very few cars managed this.
That being said, even his other designs have been superb. Including the F-pace which when launched was the best looking SUV (Although I think now the Velar looks better) I bought the F-pace less than a year ago, the design was probably the biggest factor. Even though it is nearly a 5 year old design now, it just does not look dated at all.
Timeless Elegance is the best way I would describe Ian Callum's work.
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