Robert Cumberford at home with his prototype Martinique 002. MUST CREDIT: Bloomberg photo by Matthieu Rondel.
Published July 03. 2021 12:01AM
By Jamie Kitman, Bloomberg
Car designer Moray Callum remembers unveiling his latest project at the 1993 Geneva Auto Show: the Aston Martin Lagonda Vignale concept, a radical, swooping four-door sedan far afield from the Le Mans-winning race cars and James Bond coupes that made the British marque famous.
A proud Callum years later would call the car a crowning achievement of his career.
But that evening, at an industry party aboard a yacht on Lake Geneva, Callum says a former boss introduced him to Robert Cumberford, a protege of the legendary Harley Earl at General Motors Corp., the man who literally invented modern-day automotive design. In the time since his work alongside Earl in the 1950s, Cumberford had built his influence through independent commissions and magazine reviews of the latest models. Callum, thrilled to meet Cumberford
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Retiring Ford Design Chief Moray Callum Reflects Nearly 40 Years of Work
Since 2014, Callum has led Ford s design efforts. Before he retires next week, he talked about his hits, and some of what he s learned. Ford
Spend a career designing cars, and there will be a few that aren t hits. There will be lines you later wish you had or hadn t drawn, and details that aren t quite right. There will also be hard-won perspective. People are still driving around in these cars, Ford vice president of design Moray Callum said recently. I don’t want to tell them they could have been better.
The Green Flag Flies This Weekend Autoweek 1/29/2021
FROM THE EDITOR’S DESK
You probably caught the news that after 38 years including the last seven as Ford’s design chief designer and nice guy Moray Callum is retiring. Renault’s Anthony Lo is replacing him. Over the years Callum was responsible for designing the likes of the Mustang >P, Ford GT and Mustang Mach-E >P. Callum, whose retirement is effective May 1, started at Chrysler in 1982 and over the years designed vehicles for the PSA Group, Mazda (when it was Ford owned and where he did the third-generation MX-5 and the CX-7 crossovers), and Ghia. He’s been Ford’s design boss since January 2014, when he took over for J Mays.
27 January 2021 5:17 pm / 5 comments Moray Callum Anthony Lo, vice president, Design
If you’ve been following the auto industry, the name Moray Callum will be a familiar one. Synonymous with Ford, Callum will cap his 38-year product development career – more than half of which was with the Blue Oval – as the company’s vice president (design) for Ford and Lincoln vehicles. He will retire this spring.
One of the car industry’s most influential design leaders, Callum’s most recent body of work include the 2021 Ford F-150 truck, the Ford Mustang Mach-E electric car, and the reimagined Ford Bronco and Bronco Sport. A refined, modern design language for Lincoln has been essential to the premium brand’s resurgence.