A new design house means Ian Callum is not stopping yet

jaguar style king is going again
jaguar style king is going again
jaguar style king is going again
jaguar style king is going again
jaguar style king is going again
jaguar style king is going again
jaguar style king is going again
jaguar style king is going again

At an age when most people are thinking about retirement, Jaguar design director Ian Callum just got his second wind.

The superstar car designer has unplugged from Jaguar, but only to shift into top gear at an all-new design and engineering firm, announced less than a month after he left the British car-maker after two decades.

In case there are any questions, the name over the front door provides the answers. It is CALLUM.

“It wasn’t my idea,” Callum says defensively, talking exclusively to carsales.com.au while sitting on a beach in the south of England.

“But it’s a good name. A strong name. The team wanted to use it. And it’s known in the design world.”

jaguar style king is going again

Right now, Callum could easily be settling into retirement, but he is happy as he talks through the reasons why 65 is far too early for him to give up on his passion.

“I see far too many people fading into the background. I had no intention of retiring,” he laughs.

“I had no intention of retiring after Jaguar. I’m one of those creative people that wants to keep going.

The rock god of design, whose work includes everything from HSV Holdens to the Jaguar C-X75 concept car, sees a musical parallel to his latest move in the design world.

“It’s time to go back to acoustic guitars. Go back to basics. And, you know what, I think I can still do it,” he says.

jaguar style king is going again

‘It’, for Callum, is the plain-and-simple business of design. And not just cars.

“There are things I want to do. I want to design things.

“We’re doing some other stuff. I’m doing some luggage for somebody, which was quite a bit of fun.

“And I’d like to get into furniture. I might even do a helicopter.

“When you become a director you tend to direct, not put pen on paper. You don’t have that direct creative stuff.”

Callum the man now admits that CALLUM the company was on his radar a long time before he gave his notice at Jaguar.

jaguar style king is going again

“My mind was made up a while ago, a number of years ago, but it was how it was going to formulate. I might have stayed until the end of the year, but things started to accelerate. I had to give them six months notice.

“I have to dip my toe in the water and see what happens.”

He has the advantage of a healthy pension and lifetime access to a cheap car from Jaguar, but Callum is as pumped as ever for the new challenge.

“I am going to push myself. I want to step over the line. I’m not an outrageous designer, but I still think I can do good work.

“You know what. The best answer to what I bring is that I’ve got experience.

jaguar style king is going again

“If I watch people working on a clay model I can cut through to the end. So part of my job is to say if it’s not going to work.

“It’s important to say ‘I have got the T-shirts, I have done that’. That’s what I bring. It’s a sense of getting to the right answer, or a better answer, than most people can.”

CALLUM will offer design, engineering, prototyping, machining and trim services, and will be able to create bespoke products including high-end limited-edition vehicles in-house.

Based in a 1858-square-metre facility at Warwick in the British midlands, the consultancy is close to Jaguar but also in a region with all the resources of the motor industry. It’s well equipped with everything from CAD computers to surface plates and a paint booth, but the key is the people.

Callum is one of four founding members of the company that bears his name, and all of them are ex-Jaguar Land Rover executives, including program director David Fairbairn, engineering director Adam Donfrancesco and commercial director Tom Bird.

jaguar style king is going again

Fairburn is an 18-year JLR veteran who most recently was head of bespoke and special projects (including the reincarnated Jaguar Lightweight E-Type), while Donfrancesco was his engineering manager at JLR’s Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) and helped create Jaguar’s F-TYPE GT4, and Bird worked on JLR’s global business expansion and projects like the Jaguar C-X75.

Another dozen employees so far bring experience from not only the automotive and motorsport sectors, but art, audio, fashion and lifestyle, allowing the British firm to cover many bases.

“We’ve got about 16 people at the moment. We’re growing bit by bit. A lot of the jobs are fairly mundane engineering jobs, but they are not the ones we talk about.

“If you go into the midlands you can get anything done. There are people who can build everything from engine blocks to full metal bodies. And at reasonable rates.”

It’s too early for Callum to go into detail on individual projects, the first of which will be announced in coming weeks, but he talks through everything from the Singer work on born-again Porsches to his time with the late Tom Walkinshaw, when TWR did behind-the-scenes design and development work for a huge range of companies including Aston Martin and Volvo.

jaguar style king is going again

“We will be doing a lot of speculative work in order to get people involved. That was very much Tom’s way; he would create ideas to seduce people into the business and it worked.”

Callum even did the design work on a series of HSV Holdens and was a regular visitor to the Tom’s Cafe coffee spot at Clayton.

“I’ve never really thought about going back to that. I would like to do something, but Julian Quincy is there now.”

He’s happy to sketch the broad landscape for CALLUM but happier to talk about no-go areas with major car-makers.

“I won’t be working directly for any OEMs. If they want a clay model or a design proposal, I’m not interested. I don’t want to do that any more.

“If I do something, it will be because I want to do it, not because someone else does.

jaguar style king is going again

“I’m not interested in what other people are doing. It’s great for them, but I don’t want to compete with anybody, or make a noise about being better than so-and-so.

“And, to be blunt, I’m not too worried about whether I have to make a living. I’ve been fortunate. I have a small pension…”

Callum also has a 12-car personal car collection that includes everything from a couple of vintage Volkswagen Beetles and a 993-series Porsche 911, plus a Jaguar XJ coupe and a Mini. And there is the F-TYPE SVR, his ‘company’ car.

He only plans to work for three days a week, leaving the heavy lifting to his team, but has very strong ideas about the work that will be done at CALLUM.

“Anything I do has to add value. I don’t want to just churn out a bunch of watch faces for someone. It’s got to have a value, or I’m not interested.

“We still have to make a living out of this, but what I bring is a genuine desire to better myself each time.

“What I’m finding is that all that stuff is rushing back to me. It’s a different culture, but all that stuff is coming back into my memory.

“I originally thought ‘crikey, here we go again’, but it’s different this time because my name is on the door.

“It’s my personal journey. I’m not looking for that recognition, certainly not any more, or that endorsement from someone else.

“It’s my determination. And, hopefully, out of that will come stuff that people enjoy.”

Keyword: Jaguar style king is going again

CAR'S NEWS RELATED

Jaguar Land Rover Is Using Old Parts To Fix 10,000 Cars Awaiting Repairs

A Range Rover Evoque owner accused Land Rover of using old parts to fix their car. Photo: Jaguar Land Rover British automaker Jaguar Land Rover has come under fire after the owner of a Range Rover Evoque accused the company of fixing her swanky SUV with used parts. The ...

View more: Jaguar Land Rover Is Using Old Parts To Fix 10,000 Cars Awaiting Repairs

Jaguar E-Type With Supra 2JZ Engine, BMW M3 Gearbox Will Upset Purists

It has Corvette front brakes while the rear ones come from a BMW 5 Series.

View more: Jaguar E-Type With Supra 2JZ Engine, BMW M3 Gearbox Will Upset Purists

Classic Corvette, Jaguar E-Type Look Beat Up But Salvageable In UK Barn Find

Evans feeling confident after ‘really beneficial’ Valencia test

Credit: Simon Galloway courtesy of FIA Formula E Mitch Evans topped two of the three sessions in Formula E’s official pre-season test in Valencia, which he admitted was “really beneficial” not only for himself but also for Jaguar TCS Racing. Based on the week of running at the Circuit ...

View more: Evans feeling confident after ‘really beneficial’ Valencia test

The Company Behind The Jaguar XJR-15 Is Back And Working On A New Car

The teaser shows flared fenders and a boxy tail.

View more: The Company Behind The Jaguar XJR-15 Is Back And Working On A New Car

Jaguar XJ220 Looks Fast Touring Monaco At 5 MPH

This XJ220 goes up for auction on October 25.

View more: Jaguar XJ220 Looks Fast Touring Monaco At 5 MPH

This Jaguar Restomod Is A Tribute To Enzo Ferrari, The E-Type's Biggest Fan

How do you modernize a legend successfully? You need to be subtle.

View more: This Jaguar Restomod Is A Tribute To Enzo Ferrari, The E-Type's Biggest Fan

Barclay: Addition of Cassidy key to Jaguar’s championship glory ‘objective’

Credit: Simon Galloway courtesy of FIA Formula E Jaguar TCS Racing Team Principal James Barclay has admitted that the signing of Nick Cassidy has put the outfit in a position where they can achieve their “objective”, of winning the Formula E Constructors’ Championship. The Coventry-based outfit were pipped to ...

View more: Barclay: Addition of Cassidy key to Jaguar’s championship glory ‘objective’

Jaguar retain asymmetric livery for 2023/24

1958 Jaguar XK150S 3.4-Litre Roadster

1950 Jaguar XK

Best-selling car from every brand in South Africa

Jaguar Farewells Internal Combustion with Final Petrol Sports Car, the F-Type ZP Edition

BMW X2 and iX2, Jaguar F-Type ZP Edition, Audi SQ8, Chevy Corvette ZR1, Subaru WRX TR: Rambling About Cars 145

The 2024 Jaguar F-Type ZP Edition: A Final Tribute To The V8 Era

The F-Type ZP Edition is End of the Road For Jaguar ICE

The Jaguar F-Type Has Reached The End Of The Line

Jaguar’s last-ever petrol sports car – Only 2 secured for South Africa

2024 Jaguar F-Type ZP Edition Marks End Of Company's ICE Sport Cars

Jaguar XK150

OTHER CAR NEWS

; Top List in the World https://www.pinterest.com/newstopcar/pins/
Top Best Sushi Restaurants in SeoulTop Best Caribbean HoneymoonsTop Most Beautiful Islands in PeruTop Best Outdoor Grill BrandsTop Best Global Seafood RestaurantsTop Foods to Boost Your Immune SystemTop Best Foods to Fight HemorrhoidsTop Foods That Pack More Potassium Than a BananaTop Best Healthy Foods to Gain Weight FastTop Best Cosmetic Brands in the U.STop Best Destinations for Food Lovers in EuropeTop Best Foods High in Vitamin ATop Best Foods to Lower Your Blood SugarTop Best Things to Do in LouisianaTop Best Cities to Visit in New YorkTop Best Makeup Addresses In PennsylvaniaTop Reasons to Visit NorwayTop Most Beautiful Islands In The WorldTop Best Law Universities in the WorldTop Richest Sportsmen In The WorldTop Biggest Aquariums In The WorldTop Best Peruvian Restaurants In MiamiTop Best Road Trips From MiamiTop Best Places to Visit in MarylandTop Best Places to Visit in North CarolinaTop Best Electric Cars For KidsTop Best Swedish Brands in The USTop Best Skincare Brands in AmericaTop Best American Lipstick BrandsTop Michelin-starred Restaurants in MiamiTop Best Secluded Getaways From MiamiTop Best Things To Do On A Rainy Day In MiamiTop Most Instagrammable Places In MiamiTop Interesting Facts about FlorenceTop Facts About The First Roman Emperor - AugustusTop Best Japanese FoodsTop Most Beautiful Historical Sites in IsraelTop Best Places To Visit In Holy SeeTop Best Hawaiian IslandsTop Reasons to Visit PortugalTop Best Hotels In L.A. With Free Wi-FiTop Best Scenic Drives in MiamiTop Best Vegan Restaurants in BerlinTop Most Interesting Attractions In WalesTop Health Benefits of a Vegan DietTop Best Thai Restaurant in Las VegasTop Most Beautiful Forests in SwitzerlandTop Best Global Universities in GermanyTop Most Beautiful Lakes in GuyanaTop Best Things To Do in IdahoTop Things to Know Before Traveling to North MacedoniaTop Best German Sunglasses BrandsTop Highest Mountains In FranceTop Biggest Hydroelectric Plants in AmericaTop Best Spa Hotels in NYCTop The World's Scariest BridgeTop Largest Hotels In AmericaTop Most Famous Festivals in JordanTop Best European Restaurants in MunichTop Best Japanese Hiking Boot BrandsTop Best Universities in PolandTop Best Tips for Surfing the Web Safely and AnonymouslyTop Most Valuable Football Clubs in EuropeTop Highest Mountains In ColombiaTop Real-Life Characters of Texas RisingTop Best Beaches in GuatelamaTop Things About DR Congo You Should KnowTop Best Korean Reality & Variety ShowsTop Best RockstarsTop Most Beautiful Waterfalls in GermanyTop Best Fountain Pen Ink BrandsTop Best European Restaurants in ChicagoTop Best Fighter Jets in the WorldTop Best Three-Wheel MotorcyclesTop Most Beautiful Lakes in ManitobaTop Best Dive Sites in VenezuelaTop Best Websites For Art StudentsTop Best Japanese Instant Noodle BrandsTop Best Comedy Manhwa (Webtoons)Top Best Japanese Sunglasses BrandsTop Most Expensive Air Jordan SneakersTop Health Benefits of CucumberTop Famous Universities in SwedenTop Most Popular Films Starring Jo Jung-sukTop Interesting Facts about CougarsTop Best Hospitals for Hip Replacement in the USATop Most Expensive DefendersTop Health Benefits of GooseberriesTop Health Benefits of ParsnipsTop Best Foods and Drinks in LondonTop Health Benefits of Rosehip TeaTop Best Air Fryers for Low-fat CookingTop Most Asked Teacher Interview Questions with AnswersTop Best Shopping Malls in ZurichTop The Most Beautiful Botanical Gardens In L.A.Top Best Mexican Restaurants in Miami for Carb-loading rightTop Best Energy Companies in GermanyTop Best Garage HeatersTop Largest Banks in IrelandTop Leading Provider - Audit and Assurance In The USTop Best Jewelry Brands in IndiaTop Prettiest Streets in the UKTop Best Lakes to Visit in TunisiaTop Highest Mountains in Israel