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One of the great auto designers of the ages, Ian Callum (of Jaguar, Aston Martin, Ford and others) has announced he is leaving Jaguar design. His designs of high performance, elegantly designed GT cars such as the Jaguar XKR, Aston DB9, and the current Jaguar sports/GT, the F-type have always been considered among the most beautiful examples of their categories. He will remain as a consultant with Jaguar but will be sorely missed.
I heard, he is retiring. I did enjoy seeing some of his work, although they kind of looked derivative- DB9, DBS, Vantage, Vanquish, Rapide, Ford Fusion... they all have the same sort of grill and look. They're not ugly cars by any means, but they can be hard to distinguish, kind of like McLaren's cars now.
[quote=NSXType-R;1018512]I heard, he is retiring. I did enjoy seeing some of his work, although they kind of looked derivative- DB9, DBS, Vantage, Vanquish, Rapide, Ford Fusion... they all have the same sort of grill and look. They're not ugly cars by any means, but they can be hard to distinguish, kind of like McLaren's cars now.[/quote]
You could arguably say the same about Walter Da Silva too.
I guess that once you strike a chord it is difficult to stray away from a success formula...
[quote=Ferrer;1018530]You could arguably say the same about Walter Da Silva too.
I guess that once you strike a chord it is difficult to stray away from a success formula...[/quote]
I didn't even know who he was until you brought him up... but it make sense.
I really like the 1st gen Audi R8.
Well he did the Alfa 156 and then the Seat Cordoba. I guess the similarities are quite obvious...
It always amuses and amazes me how even cars that are so substantially similar in look can be so different in the success of that design.
I think Callum did good things at Jag; injecting some life into the company in the selling-off malaise of the British industry. He gave them some direction after Lawson's last efforts like the X-Type were a bit... troubled.
Yeah trying to replicate your 50's and 60's style in modern cars is like trying to watch an 80's VHS videotape in an 85 inch 8K telly; it may be romantic but it's not going to look good...
I like the X300/X308 XJs and the XK though.
I consider the 300 series an era removed from the X-Type, though. The lowness of their beltlines is gorgeous; they're flowing without being bulbous. For some reason Connecticut is full of them; the temptation is strong...
The XK is pretty, too, but I'm not quite as smitten with them.
The other day I saw a Vandenplas XJ parked on the street and I was floored by how regal and proper it looked. It's just very well proportioned and elegant and the styling has aged exceedingly well.
I want this one:
[IMG]https://thumbsnap.com/s/E0I7ehXd.jpg[/IMG]
With Minilite-like wheels and in BRG if possible. Thanks.
I like the version of the XJ with the gills right on the front fender. I forgot which version that was.
[ame="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTAXykiqsGs"]575HP LS3 Swapped Jaguar XJ8L - One Take - YouTube[/ame]