Legendary car designer Ian Callum of Jaguar, who was visiting Korea for the first time to attend the Seoul Motor Show, picked Kia’s Sportage as his favorite design among Korean cars.

“The Sportage has really great design. I think it’s exaggerated but it’s good when it comes to car design. It gives a character to a car,” he said in an interview with The Korea Herald.

The design director for Jaguar and man behind the British carmaker’s renaissance over the past decade joined the Seoul event to personally unveil the much-anticipated F-Type roadster, the first sports car by Jaguar since the 1970s. 

“It’s a true breakthrough product for Jaguar. It marks our return to the sports car market,” he said of the F-Type, a successor to the E-Type sports car, which is still at the top of many lists of “most beautiful cars.”

Callum became chief designer of Jaguar in 1999 and has been design inspiration for the luxury carmaker’s flagship models such as the XJ limousine and the sportier XF sedan.

He recalled when he was assigned the mission to lead the rebirth of Jaguar.

“I lined up all the sedans from the 1950s and ‘60s when Jaguar was at its peak,” he said. “They had great visual architecture, the look and lines. So I took those values and translated them to the 21st century, but it wasn’t easy.”

Amid Jaguar’s popularity growing in Asia, the carmaker plans to offers cars that satisfy more detailed demands from customers, especially those in China and India. For XJ, Korea was the fourth-largest market last year.

But Callum made it clear there would be no fundamental change in Jaguar’s design philosophy, saying, “Even though the industry’s design trend becomes international, people still buy a Jaguar because it’s British.”

The top designer is also a friend of Hyundai-Kia’s design chief Peter Schreyer. He said they have been friends for 35 years since they studied at the Royal College of Art.

“I always admire Peter. He is an excellent designer and has got a great talent,” he said, adding he was surprised when Peter left Audi when he was then a design chief.

“(To) create design from a world architect point of view is absolutely perfect. I think it’s a great opportunity for Kia,” he said, picking Kia’s Sportage and Optima (the K5 in Korea) as his favorite Korean cars.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)