Students interpret Jaguar design

This is an inspired take on Jaguar design by Royal College of Art students Ewan Gallimore and Claire Miller created for Clerkenwell Design Week 2013, which opened this week. The initial brief, put forward by Jaguar’s advanced studio in the UK to vehicle and textile design students, was to create a joint exterior and interior form study that expresses their vision of the marque’s... Read More

Giles Taylor on the Rolls-Royce Wraith

The Rolls-Royce Wraith references the glamour of old Hollywood with the elegant Deco inspired sweep of its long fastback body – think Cary Grant and Grace Kelly in Hitchcock’s most stylish of movies To Catch a Thief. Displaying this Ghost-based coupé seems to be a self-conscious separation by the marque from the supercar power struggle that dominated the 2013 Geneva... Read More

Cars at Salone del Mobile Milan

The world of the automobile is rapidly evolving – no longer is it sufficient to build reliable, well-engineered machines. Now cars need to be thoughtfully designed to express current trends and they have to at least be seen to be relevant. And it helps to be spotted mingling with the creative world. Car designers are forever emphasising their involvement with other design... Read More

Designer talk: Ian Callum on Jaguar design

On the eve of the 2013 Geneva Motor Show Dr Ralf Speth told a small group of media representatives of his company’s triumphant year. The Jaguar Land Rover chief executive officer revealed plans to invest £2.75 billion in product development to support the launch of eight new and refreshed products this year, including the Jaguar F-Type and the introduction of the world’s... Read More

Mini John Cooper Works family

Car companies need products that push the limit of the brand either in their design or performance. It pays to have a sub-brand that produces a limited and therefore more desirable numbers of specialist cars aimed at enthusiasts or those wanting novelty products. In the case of Mini this is John Cooper Works, the marque’s high-performance sub-brand. Founded in 2000 by John... Read More

Designer talk: Luc Donckerwolke

‘I must say I didn’t expect it. I made a move from Seat to Volkswagen just a year ago and I was thinking of staying when I got the call in July. I had to tell my wife we are not going to be buying curtains for our new house in Berlin,’ Luc Donckerwolke tells me as we settle down for coffee at his new offices in Crewe. The call in question came from Bentley, asking Luc... Read More

Julian Thomson on the Jaguar F-Type

These are images of the upcoming F-Type, a contemporary take on arguably Jaguar’s most notable car, the E-Type. This convertible sports car is a meticulously executed product that successfully avoids making retro references to its predecessor. I caught up a little while ago with director of advanced design, Julian Thomson, who explained the design thinking: ‘We study... Read More

Audi’s new design strategy

Audi has revealed its new design strategy – the thinking is expressed by the latest Crosslane Coupé concept car. Shown a couple of months ago at the Mondial de l’Automobile in Paris, this intriguing study car not only gives a taste of how the future models in the marque’s Q family will look, but shows how Audi design will enter a new phase. I visited the team... Read More

New Range Rover in Morocco

Morocco is a curious mix. On the one hand cities like Marrakech have become magnets for hipster travellers, chic boutique hoteliers, designer bars and restaurants. On the other is a vast, predominantly peasant land where donkeys, camels and beat-up minivans, packed dangerously high with cattle, form the main mode of transport. High-end luxury meets robust living in Morocco –... Read More

Frank Stephenson on the McLaren P1

McLaren Automotive is an exciting company. Here we have a firm created with the sole purpose of making high-performance road cars utilising the Formula One technology of mother company McLaren. Everything it does, every move it makes is meticulously calculated for this goal. In this day and age where profit seems to rule decisions, this degree of integrity is endearing. The... Read More