WE'RE MORE THAN HALFWAY THROUGH THE year so we can assume that Craig Callum has already designed around 30 cars in 2024. Not even the Chinese automotive brands produce this many new cars a year, so where is it that Callum is working? The answer is Mattel, makers of the legendary Hot Wheels model cars that many of us grew up with. But before we get into the fascinating story of a designer whose life and career have followed a very different course to most in his trade, we must deal with his surname.
Much to my surprise, fellow Scots Craig and Ian Callum are not directly related. 'There are two designers in particular who have had an enormous influence on me and who both have become friends,' says Callum. 'One is lan and the other is Peter Stevens. I'd wanted to be a car designer since I was five years old but nobody in my family did anything remotely similar so I had to find my own way. In my teens I heard about the automotive design course at Coventry University and thought that drawing cars was my sort of university degree.
'Before going to Coventry, when I was 17, I turned up at Peter Stevens' studio in my classic Mini and literally doorstepped him. In his studio, which is a converted barn, there were model cars, books, nick-nacks, bits and pieces of cars and sketches on his desk. I'd grown up in a normal house and hadn't seen this sort of thing. What also struck me about Peter is the variety of his work over the years. From designing one of the most famous supercars of all time, to trams, to racing car liveries. This showed me the breadth of design and how varied a career you could have. He has been an inspiration and mentor over the years and we have stayed friends ever since.'
This story is from the September 2024 edition of Evo UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 2024 edition of Evo UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
BEST BUYS BMW M CARS
THE PERFORMANCE CAR LANDSCAPE WOULD HAVE looked very different over the last five decades without BMW. Its M division, founded in 1972, has produced some of the best driver’s cars ever to hit the road, and in the process has provided a stream of benchmark models for its rivals to chase. In recent years, stricter emissions regulations, downsizing and electrification have seen some of those rival cars falter, yet by and large BMW’s M machines have remained strong. In fact, some rank among the greatest the department has made think of the eCoty-winning M2 CS and M5 CS while others are the only options worth recommending in their respective segments. Price tags have risen with performance, however, putting those latest offerings out of reach for many, but the marque’s popularity means there are numerous earlier M models available on the second-hand market for far more attainable figures. Here are four of our favourites.
TYRE 2024 TEST
Want to fit the very best tyres to your performance car? The annual evo Tyre Test identifies the cream of the current crop
HONDA ACCORD TYPE R
A liberal sprinkling of Honda Type R fairy dust on the late-'90s Accord produced an unlikely evo icon and a genuine performance bargain
TOY STORY
Where best to store some of Toyota’s most prized and valuable racing superstars? Under the wind tunnel at its Cologne HO, of course...
POWER PLAY
It develops 819bhp. It has no turbochargers, no hybrid assistance. Ferrari describes it as the most complete GT it's ever made. And it’s so proud of its mighty V12 engine it’s named the whole car after it. This is the 12 Cilindri
THE FIRST SAMURAIS
Japan has been responsible for many of our favourite driver's cars of recent decades, but their ancestors are often much less well known. We take a look at where the big manufacturers began their performance car journeys
DEFINITELY. NO MAYBE
Three Japanese performance icons - Lexus LFA, Subaru Impreza 22B and Nissan GT-R. Over three days on some of our favourite roads we explore what makes each uniquely thrilling, but also the car culture that unites them
1V3.0
F1, P1... and now W1. The next chapter in McLaren's Ultimate Series is the British firm's challenger to the forthcoming new Ferrari hypercar and a £2million, 1257bhp, hybrid-powered, technical tour de force
Thornley Kelham European RS
One man’s dream to build the perfect Porsche 911 has resulted inthis aaticMously restored and enhanced classic. We delve into the details and take it for a drive
Bentley Continental GT Speed
The new Continental GT is the most powerful Bentley ever, and the beginning of anew plug-in hybrid era for Crewe. But is it still a benchmark grand tourer?
