Impressive new Design Centre for Jaguar Cars provides inside peek

Provided with an exclusive ‘behind closed doors’ appreciation of one of our nation’s important car brands, Iain Robertson agrees that the right creative environment is essential to its ongoing development and survival in an increasingly challenging scene.

The last time I was given a tour of a normally ‘secret’ carmaker’s department was when Ian Callum, Jaguar Cars’ former design chief, invited me to Whitley, Coventry, when he had just received the final sign-off of the beautiful XK8 model. To be granted a similar privilege by Julian Thomson, who has replaced Mr Callum as the firm’s design director, is something to be relished.



The entirely new facility is based at Gaydon, south of Coventry, in a cathedral-like building that is high on technology, while offering space (normally at a genuine premium) and clarity that encourages creative thinking, all within a single, uncluttered environment that is a viable showpiece for the brand. The ‘Heart Space’, a collaborative hub at the centre of the new Jaguar Design Studio, will bring together the diverse and creative 280-strong team, as it designs future generations of Jaguars.



Surrounding the Heart Space are bespoke working environments for the Interior, Exterior and Colour and Materials teams, plus Design Visualisation and Design Technical disciplines. Jaguar Design is made up of designers from across the globe and from a range of industry backgrounds, including fashion, watchmaking, sports and gaming. Being drawn from such diversity helps the team deliver its ‘Jaguar’ interpretation of Britishness using contemporary materials and processes, which utilise industry-leading technology, including custom-made clay modelling machines that allow 20 models to be worked on simultaneously. Virtual reality (VR) systems and an 11.0-metre 4K digital display wall known as ‘The Electric’ are features. The floor area of the new Jaguar Design Studio measures over 12,000m2, an increase of over a third of the total previous studio spaces based at Whitley.



The main studios are named Studio 3 and Studio 4, taking inspiration from the numbers of the Le Mans-winning Jaguar D-types of 1957 and 1956 respectively, as well as paying homage to studios 1 and 2 at Whitley, the home of Jaguar Design from 1985. The naming approach continues to the meeting rooms, with some named after iconic Jaguar models and the others taking their names from important people in Jaguar history, including founder Sir William Lyons, designer Geoff Lawson and the actor Steve McQueen.



They contain a total of ten clay modelling plates, each measuring 20-metres long and capable of accommodating two clays, with a load capacity of 4.5-tonnes. For the first time, designers can now place interior and exterior models alongside to improve collaboration between the two disciplines. The plates also feature floor-integrated lifts for the clay models. These provide continuous height adjustment, enabling the most ergonomic working positions for the Jaguar modellers. The studios are fully temperature controlled to ensure clay remains in the ideal state to be worked by the 46-strong team of sculptors, while lighting is provided at exactly the right brightness and colour temperature for optimal vision.

MSG Summary

Jaguar Cars has always been a small sporting brand possessing a reputation significantly grander. This exciting new creative facility should help the Indian-funded company to aim higher in the future.

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