Jaguar Head Designer Ian Callum Exits After 20 Years, Leaving Behind A Legacy Of Beautiful Cars

'I am excited about the future of Jaguar'

Ian Callum
Jaguar design boss Ian Callum will depart after 20 years with the company. [Photo: Jaguar]

‘One of my biggest highlights was creating XF’

Iconic Jaguar designer Ian Callum joined Jaguar in 1999. Even by that point, he had been at least partly responsible for the likes of the Aston Martin DB7 and Vanquish, as well as the Ford Escort Cosworth. Now, after designing a range of Jaguar models, he is stepping down after 20 years. “I have had an incredible career at Jaguar,” he said. “One of my biggest highlights was creating XF because it represented the beginning of an ew era moving Jaguar from tradition to contemporary design — it was a significant turning point in our history.”

Ian Callum departing Jaguar after two decades
The Jaguar XF is just one of the cars Callum has designed. [Photo: Jaguar]

Here are all the cars Ian Callum has been responsible for over the past two decades:

Basically, Ian Callum is the man responsible for the look of every modern Jaguar, which is certainly a credit to his CV moving forward. It’s worth noting he is not leaving the company entirely, but will continue to work as a consultant. Jaguar has appointed Julian Thomson to head the company’s design department as of July 1.

Thomson has been with Jaguar nearly as long as Callum, joining the team in 2000. His CV includes stints at Ford in Britain as well as Lotus. He also served as Chief of Exteriors at Volkswagen’s Concept Design Centre.

Since Callum isn’t leaving the business entirely, we’ll have to wait and see what projects he will have a hand in as his time with Jaguar draws to a close. “Given the strength of both our products and the design team, I feel that now is the right time to move on, both personally and professionally, and explore other design projects,” he said.

Check out the latest new Jaguar, the I-Pace, below: