Julian Thomson Automotive designer

NOT ALL CAR DESIGNERS ARE DIEHARD car enthusiasts. But rather like fat chefs, you’re more inclined to look favourably upon those whose passion for their chosen profession extends beyond the nine-to-five. Julian Thomson, most famously the designer of the Lotus Elise S1 and who has helped steer the reinvention of Jaguar’s styling for the past 21 years, is completely immersed in car culture, outside and inside of work.

He sketches cars and sees them into production; he appreciates our automotive past and contemplates its future; he owns a wholesome stable of interesting cars, modifies them, restores them and drives them often; he frequently attends car events and takes pictures of what he sees – whole cars and design details – for his own entertainment. He even claims to be an early adopter of the trackday movement: ‘Back in the early ’80s my mates and I hatched a plan in the pub. Someone had discovered you could rent the Goodwood Circuit for £125, plus another £125 for an ambulance. We worked out that if we got 25 people together, it’d cost us a tenner each.

‘In the event only three of us turned up in our crappy cars