Jozef Kaban also worked at Audi, BMW and Rolls Royce and was responsible for designing the look of VW’s ID electric cars
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- Józef Kaban becomes the new head of MG’s design department
- Kaban previously worked at BMW and Rolls Royce and also designed the Bugatti Veyron
- His last job was at VW, where he worked on future mobility after being replaced as head of VW design
A car photographer friend of mine, who shoots for both magazines and car manufacturers, once told me that brands who wanted to hire him to take snapshots of their new city car would look through his portfolio and always stop at the supercar images. “Make it look like that!” they would say, which of course was impossible.
I wonder if MG’s new design boss, Jozef Kaban, had the same experience when he was interviewed for his new gig. Kaban’s resume includes stints at Audi, BMW and Rolls Royce, but a notable highlight was designing the look of the Bugatti Veyron in the early 2000s.
Related: MG EXE181 electric hypercar concept aims for 1.9 seconds at 0-62 mph
Perhaps of greater interest to MG is Kaban’s role in shaping VW’s ID electric fleet. The British-sounding Chinese automaker has already made a name for itself with electric vehicles like the MG4 (an ID.3 competitor that costs thousands less and is better to drive) and the Cyberster sports car, and will enjoy a bit of a promotional boost this year because 2024 is that 100th anniversary of the name MG.
A graduate of the legendary Royal Academy of Art in London, Kaban developed “forward-looking mobility solutions” for VW before joining MG, having previously taken on the position of overall head of VW design, a position now held by a former Bentley man , Andreas Mindt.
Well, this is pure speculation on our part, but we get the impression that Kaban may have been sidelined at VW, where there’s been a lot of fuss about a return to cars with an assertive stance, like the ID.2all and the ID . GTI concepts. And if that’s the case, the move to MG represents a huge opportunity for Kaban. The MG name may be 100, but the modern MG brand is just beginning to make a noticeable presence as Chinese automakers begin to expand into markets outside of theirs to push your own boundaries.
We’ll have to wait a while to see the first fruits of Kaban’s labor at MG, but the centenary celebrations should keep the brand in the headlines in 2024. This week at the Beijing Motor Show, the company unveiled the EXE181 concept. The model is inspired by the slippery land speed record EX181 from 1957.
The original car reached a top speed of 254.91 mph (410.23 km/h) at Bonneville in 1959 with a supercharged version of the production MGA’s 1.5-liter twin-cam engine rated at 300 hp ( 304 HP) was tuned.
Bugatti photo credit: Patrick Ernzen/RM Sotheby’s