Meanwhile, creating an all-new flagship SUV for the brand is as big a challenge as he is likely to face – and, while it may be fashionable to snipe at present, I bet the tide soon turns on that one.
As a result, I reckon there must have been a bit of Taylor’s mind that was thinking "What next?".
Of course, he could have stayed where he is, under the wing of BMW’s design group, but with the responsibility of leading the world’s quintessential luxury brand. Doesn’t sound a bad gig, does it?
But Taylor has always shown ambition, moving from PSA to Jaguar to Rolls-Royce on his upward climb. On the cusp of turning 50, it’s not unfair to argue that he has already achieved more in his career than many will achieve in a lifetime.
So, perhaps he concluded that he had two choices: to stay in one of the best jobs in the world or to face entirely new challenges. For restless, ambitious minds, sometimes even the best job in the world isn’t enough.
If you agree that no established car maker could match what’s gone before, the curveball of looking east starts to make more and more sense.
While today’s FAW announcement is brief and scant on detail, it suggests that Taylor can stay in his adopted home of Munich and build a team to his liking. That’s quite a vote of confidence from his new employer and, I'd say, quite an extraordinary challenge for him. Imagine someone knocking on your door and saying "We like what you do, and we’re prepared to invest in you to create, as you see fit, from scratch".
And again, perhaps, his age is significant; if, as I imagine it must be, his brief at Hongqi is to build a credible luxury brand from scratch, a job that most car people will tell you would take 20 years at least if everything goes to plan, he had to make his move now.
Finally, it’s worth noting that FAW is one of China’s big three car makers. It lacks nothing in terms of funding or scale. Now, it appears, it has ambition, too.
Sounds exciting, doesn’t it? Exciting enough, I’d guess, to tempt Taylor to move.
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Cheltenhamshire
Money and the taxi SUV.
289
Glad he has gone...
....we can only hope the next designer at RR will move the Brand back to an elegant design brief.
johnfaganwilliams
maybe they said
Jeez it's 2018. Take off the tie and ditch the ridiculous 1980s pin striped. Live a little, man......
See also all of us who have resigned from snooty London clubs where they insist you wear a bit of old carpet around your neck.
BoydWiggins
Who cares? Some people like
Who cares? Some people like suits and ties, some people like deep Vs and flip flops.
80sXS
He's the kind of guy I
He's the kind of guy I imagine would have been waiting for me had I have wanted to buy a London Docklands apartment in the late 1980s. "Did I mention the spectacular views? Sign here."
zogle28
Worth the challenge
Right now the Chinese are getting very good at making ordinary cars but they haven't quite mastered premium so he'll help them on their way with that. And I'd also doubt Jim's statement that it'll take them 20 years to build Hongqi. You have no idea how fast these guys develop and how dynamic the people are. Even if Hongqi never became big outside of China they really don't have to. There are so many rich people in China alone who, with some national pride, could take to this brand. They sell over 500 Maybachs a month here and if a Hongqi could do what the Maybach can, they could become the car of the elite in China. At the recent China-Africa summit the leaders of Africa have also been ferried around in the same Hongqi as Xi Jinping. If they're the next to rise like China has, they might fancy a piece of what Xi drives, considering the money he's pumping into their infrastructure.
BigMitch
Firstly, he didn;t design
Firstly, he didn;t design those cars, he was the director! Which basically means he picked the sketch he liked. It'ts amazing to me after all these decades of motoring journalism Autocar still doesn't fkn know how cars are designed. Those cars u mentioned were probably penned by some 30 something dude or a kid not long out of college. That's how the industry works. As for going to China, if he can put up with the air pollution fair enough. They will PAY him. Unlike Europeans.
3
catnip
Maybe Hongqi are planning to
Maybe Hongqi are planning to bring out a new Taxi model too.
WallMeerkat
The suit - I'm guessing if
The suit - I'm guessing if you're head of <anything> at one of the worlds most famous ultra-luxury brands then you're going to dress accordingly. Ditching the tie and a casual jacket is for new tech, not Rolls Royce.
The Cullinan - they're just chasing market share, everyone is obsessed with SUVs now so all the brands have to make them. I hate it, it is vulgar and - like the Bentayga - looks more like a taxi cab than an elegant shooting brake. But in a way we have come full circle, Rolls Royces of a century ago were tall and squared off.
China - they are the future. Just as Japanese and Korean brands were. The likes of Lexus, Acura and Infiniti have been popular in the US market as luxury brands, perhaps this is the foothold rather than just aiming at economy cars.
john2219
He should fit right in...
... the Cullinan is ugly enough to be a Chinese knoick off design, that probably impressed he's new bosses.
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