Vehicle design at the RCA celebrates its 40th anniversary this year. The course began in the late 1960s when Ford of Dagenham approached industrial design students Dawson Sellar and Peter Stevens, both known for their fondness for the motorcar, to set up a teaching unit dedicated to designing cars. Sellar and Stevens were given almost free rein to choose the structure and the lecturers, although resources and technology was thin on the ground - they even had to build the first clay oven to make vehicle prototype models. Since those early years, the RCA’s unit has evolved into one of the world’s leading courses, responsible for educating some of the most influential car designers of our times. We caught up with five of its alumni.
Anthony Lo, Director of Advanced Design, GM Europe
Earl Beckles, Principle Designer at Land Rover
Marek Reichman, Design Director at Aston Martin
Nick Talbot, Director at Seymour Powell
Peter Stevens, Peter Stevens Design