Former Jaguar design head says brand’s radical new direction ‘lacks beauty’

Ian Callum, the former head of Jaguar’s design department from 1999 until 2019, has revealed his thoughts on the brand’s new direction.

In an interview with Motor1.com, Callum described Jaguar’s Type 00 concept, the concept that previews the British brand’s radical design overhaul, as both brutal and lacking beauty.

Callum’s words weren’t all negative, however, but there’s a sense that the former Jaguar designer, who led the brand’s last major design relaunch in 2006 – a styling language still in use until 2025 – sees room for improvement.

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“The [concept] is very bold, and it’s very dramatic. It lacks beauty. I won’t deny it’s bold and it’s dramatic; it’s a very extreme proportion.” Callum said when asked about Jaguar’s new design approach.

“For me, the proportion is too retro… but the extremity is brave. It’s brutal, but it lacks beauty, and I think a criteria of Jaguar is to be beautiful. Not to say it’s a bad design, it just lacks that very important element of Jaguar design.”

During his time at Jaguar, Callum was responsible for the design of cars, including the 2007 XF, which adopted a contemporary style almost as controversial at the time as the Type 00 is today, owing to its near-complete departure from Jaguar’s retro-dominated styling themes.

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Other Jaguar designs overseen by Callum include the XJ in 2010, F-Type (below) in 2013, XE in 2015, the second-generation XF in 2015, and the F-Pace SUV and I-Pace EV in 2016 and 2018, respectively.

Ian Callum now heads up his own design firm, with in-house design and engineering capabilities, a range of restomod and all-new automotive projects, and forays into furniture and a line of boutique Scotch whisky.

Callum also suggested that Jaguar’s move to an all-electric brand, starting with the Type 01 four-door, the first production model based on the Type 00, could hamper the relaunched brand’s chances at success.

“’I think where the biggest challenge will be is the fact that it’s electric. That’s not an opinion on my part; that’s just a fact of life.” He said.

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“If you look at all the electric supercars, nobody seems to want any. People who buy supercars aren’t going to worry about fuel consumption; that’s for sure.”

Jaguar Land Rover’s chief creative officer, Gerry McGovern, credited with the design of the Type 00, stepped down from his role in March 2026 after much speculation regarding his future at JLR in the aftermath of the Type 00’s reveal.