For the past few years, Jaguar has built some of the best looking cars on the market. From the XKR to the F-Type, these fast cats have had people breaking necks wherever they go. The man behind these stylish vehicles is none other than Ian Callum, who will soon be departing from his job as Jaguar's Design Director.

Callum started his automotive design career in 1979 when first worked with Ford and later became the chief designer of TWR Design in 1991. He then moved to Aston Martin for a short time before finally joining Jaguar in 1999. At the time, Jaguar was still a part of Ford's portfolio of brands and was tasked to 'establish a new design philosophy' for upcoming models.

Some of the most popular Jaguar models designed by Callum include the F-Type, XE, XF, and the XJ. He is also credited for styling the automaker's first set of SUVs – the F-Pace, E-Pace, and even the all-electric I-Pace. Callum also designed Jaguar's C-X75 hypercar concept, which unfortunately did not make it to production.

Starting July 1, Callum will be handing the reigns over to current Creative Design Director, Julian Thomson. Thomson has been with Jaguar since 2000 and is currently in charge of 'the development of the design concepts for the entire current product range'. Much like Callum, Thomson began his automotive career at Ford before moving to Lotus as head of design and later to Volkswagen.

"I have had an incredible career at Jaguar... I came into this role with a mission to take Jaguar design back to where it deserved to be. It has taken 20 years, but I believe I have achieved what I set out to do. 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,” said Callum.

Despite stepping down as Jaguar's Director of Design, Callum will remain as a consultant for the brand. With Thomson stepping in, expect to see a new style of Jaguar vehicles to come in the near future.

design e-pace f-pace f-type i-pace ian callum jaguar julian thomson xe xf xj xk xkr