{{Short description|British car designer}} {{Multiple issues| {{Notability|1=Biographies|date=August 2022}} {{Fan POV|date=August 2022}} }} {{Infobox person | name = Giles Taylor | alma_mater = Royal College of Art | occupation = Automotive design | employer = FAW Group | notable_works = Citroën Xsara }} '''Giles Taylor '''is a British car designer. He is the current vice president of design and chief creative officer for the Chinese state-owned FAW Group’s Hongqi marque. Taylor worked as a chief designer for Rolls-Royce, Jaguar and as an exterior designer for Citroën. His designs include the eighth generation Rolls-Royce Phantom and the redesigned Jaguar XJ (X351).
==Education== Taylor studied automobile design in Coventry, England, before attending the Royal College of Art in London.<ref name="WheelsNewYorkTimes" >{{Cite web |url=https://wheels.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/09/jaguar-introduces-students-to-its-latest-xj/ |title=Wheels Wheels The Nuts and Bolts of Whatever Moves You Jaguar Introduces Students to Its Latest XJ |date=2009-10-09 |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=The New York Times |last=Patton |first=Bill }}</ref>
==Career== ===Citroen === thumb|Citroën Xsara in St Trond Taylor undertook his first car design job for Citroen in 1997 aged twenty nine. The vehicle in question was the Citroën Xsara. Taylor claims that Citroen headhunted him after he left the Royal College of Art. He posits that he was one of several designers to submit sketches, but Citroen adopted his. Taylor oversaw the Xsara's exterior design through to the production stage. Taylor claims that he based the design on the Citroën Xantia.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/motoring/another-entry-in-citroen-s-x-files-1250271.html |title=ANOTHER ENTRY IN CITROEN'S X FILES |date=1997-07-11 |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=The Independent }}</ref>
===Jaguar=== Taylor joined Jaguar Cars in 1997 and worked for the organisation for fourteen years,<ref name="MotorTrend">{{Cite web |url=https://www.motortrend.com/news/rolls-royce-exterior-designer-giles-taylor-promoted-to-design-chief-224423/ |title=Rolls-Royce Exterior Designer Giles Taylor Promoted to Design Chief |date=2012-06-28 |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=Motor Trend |last=Timmins |first=Ben }}</ref> latterly as the chief exterior designer.<ref name="WheelsNewYorkTimes"/>
Taylor was the chief exterior designer of the Jaguar XJ (X351).<ref name="WheelsNewYorkTimes" /> It replaced Jaguar’s traditional sedan, whose shape had not altered since 1968.<ref name="NYTCallumJaguarXJ">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/12/automobiles/12jaguar-xj.html |title=Jaguar XJ Is Back With Some Bite |date=2009-07-09 |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=The New York Times |last=Patton |first=Phil }}</ref> Taylor claimed that the car cost four hundred million dollars to produce and that executives initially challenged some of its features, such as the blacked-out C column.<ref name="WheelsNewYorkTimes" /> The XJ debuted in July 2009 at London’s Saatchi Gallery.<ref name="AutocarXJ">{{Cite web |url=http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/Jaguar-XJ-Series/241405/ |title=Jaguar XJ: full details and pics |date=2009-07-09 |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=Autocar |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090713021016/http://www.autocar.co.uk/News/NewsArticle/Jaguar-XJ-Series/241405/ |archive-date=2009-07-13 |url-status=live}}</ref> Taylor then exhibited the car at a selection of automobile design schools in the autumn of 2009, including the Pratt Institute and the Parsons School of Design in New York, the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, and the College for Creative Studies in Detroit.<ref name="WheelsNewYorkTimes" />
In 2010 Taylor headed the design of the Jaguar XJ75 Platinum Concept that marked the brand’s seventy-fifth anniversary.<ref name="JaguarPlatinumConcept">{{Cite web |url=https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/jaguar-xj-concept-hints-xjr |title=Jaguar XJ concept hints at XJR |date=2010-08-16 |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=Autocar }}</ref> Its exterior design employed a black-and-white colour scheme, while the interior styling included a clock co-designed with the Bremont Watch Company.<ref name="JaguarPlatinumConcept"/> Taylor also worked on the Jaguar XK and XJ series. He left the organisation in 2011.<ref name="MotorTrend"/>
===Rolls-Royce=== Taylor joined Rolls-Royce Motor Cars as head of exterior design in 2011,<ref name="AutocarRollsRoyceBoss">{{Cite web |url=https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/rolls-royce-design-boss-giles-taylor-departs |title=Rolls-Royce design boss Giles Taylor departs |date=2018-06-07 |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=Autocar |last=Beckworth |first=Jimi }}</ref> replacing Ian Cameron as head of design the following year. He was responsible for the interior and exterior design of the Ghost and Phantom series, among others.<ref name="MotorTrend"/> He left the organisation in September 2018.<ref name="AutocarRollsRoyceBoss"/>
During his time at Rolls-Royce, Taylor worked as a stylist for the Phantom VIII.<ref name="InterviewPhantom">{{Cite web |url=https://www.theweek.co.uk/88143/designing-timelessness-the-rolls-royce-phantom |title=Designing timelessness: The Rolls-Royce Phantom |date=2017-09-05 |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=The Week |last=Taylor |first=Giles }}</ref>
He oversaw the design of the 2016 Dawn.<ref name="EveningStandard">{{Cite web |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/lifestyle/motors/wraith-loses-its-lid-as-dawn-breaks-a3094021.html |title=Wraith loses its lid as Dawn breaks |date=2015-09-24 |access-date=2022-07-20 |website=Evening Standard |last=Calne |first=John }}</ref> Taylor designed the Cullinan, the marque’s first sports utility vehicle.<ref name="AutocarRollsRoyceBoss"/>
==References== {{reflist}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Giles}} Category:British automobile designers Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:FAW Group people Category:Rolls-Royce people Category:Alumni of the Royal College of Art