Eyebrows raised this morning as it was revealed that it was Chinese car maker Hongqi – part of the FAW Group – that had lured Rolls-Royce head of design Giles Taylor to quit his seeming dream job.

Why, you might wonder, would he want to do that?

Cynics will say for money, of course. They may have a point. It’s a motivator for most people. But for what little I know of Taylor, and without having been able to talk with him about the move, I doubt the story starts or ends there.

Timing is part of it, I’m sure. After six years heading up Rolls-Royce’s design team, Taylor can put his name to both a new Phantom and the new Cullinan, among others. He’s also guided a future design path, with the Vision Next 100 concept.

A new Phantom is as big as it gets. Redesigning, to huge acclaim, an icon of the industry is as special a project as you could imagine. 

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?".