Fans of Jaguar might not know the name of the person who designed the brand’s beautiful recent vehicles. Many people know Steve Jobs and Johnny Ive, who shaped the Apple products that now have global cachet. Auto legends like Enzo Ferrari and Ferdinand Porsche are a bit less well known, but still enjoy some following.
For Jaguar in the 21st century, that name should be Ian Callum, the company’s head of design since 1999. His most recent creation, the F-Type, is racking up design and driving awards high enough to step onto the moon, the better to survey his automotive legends. The XK, XJ and XF all bear his hand, as well. Before Jaguar he spent time at Aston Martin designing the Vanquish of James Bond fame, as well as the DB7.
The DB7 was spoken of once by Jeremy Clarkson, host of the BBC’s Top Gear: “I’m not saying the Aston Martin DB7 looks good for a car. For me, this is the most beautiful thing ever made by man.”
Not bad. It should be no surprise then that the F-Type has all the sizzle and appeal to make the brand’s #GoodToBeBad campaign work.
People might not know that working for Jaguar has long been a dream for Callum, even before he had any formal training to do so. A native of Scotland, he submitted a car design to Jaguar when he was only 14. He was enchanted with the different cars of his day, and who could blame him? Cars from the United Kingdom in the 1960s were at a very impressive spot.
Callum would write letters to car dealers on his mother’s typewriter, prompting a Rolls-Royce representative to telephone the house thinking that a potential buyer was very much interested. Callum went on to get the schooling necessary to secure a job at Ford, and the rest is history.
You can read more about him in Business Insider or the New York Times.