Ian Callum's Vanquish Shooting Brake Looks Awesome—But It's Not Perfect

Ian Callum has done it again. The British designer, known for his work at Aston Martin and Jaguar, now runs his own design house simply dubbed Callum. There, he's known for restomods and redesigns on cars that include the Vanquish and the original Mini Cooper.

Callum recently revealed a new concept on Instagram that reimagines the company's Vanquish 25 restomod as a stunning shooting brake. It looks mostly great, but we have mixed feelings. The caption is a straightforward gauge to see if anyone would be interested in such a build:

Callum Vanquish Shooting Brake.

*Currently purely conceptual. If interested to commission, let’s talk…

If I had the money, I'd consider reaching out. But I'd also come with a few requests. The body itself is fine—the resculpted front fascia with the bigger side intakes looks great. I'm also a fan of the reworked sideskirts and rear bumper. And, of course, that wagon bodystyle is the thing of dreams.

But those wheels gotta go. They're far too big and wide, and the two-tone coloring is an affront to all things holy when it comes to wheel design. Wheels should be one color. The brake calipers are a little too flashy, as well—they should be silver or black. This is an Aston Martin, after all, not a Ferrari. 

There's also the headlights. In an attempt to bring the Vanquish's timeless design into the 21st century, Callum added a set of modern projectors with circular LED running lights. While the designers mean well, it makes the car look like it's been modified with cheap, aftermarket, off-the-shelf Autozone parts. The original set of headlights was far classier.

That all being said, I'm almost certain Callum could accommodate my tasteless—to him, anyway—requests. Small, boutique manufacturers are all about customization these days, so if someone called up asking for a Vanquish shooting brake that more closely aligns with the original's design, I suspect they can make it happen.

Photos by: Callum

If the shooting brake is anything like the standard Vanquish 25, that means a 5.9-liter V-12 making 580 horsepower—perfectly fine by me. Callum offers buyers the opportunity to stick with the original—and unpleasant—single-clutch automatic, swap to a six-speed GM torque-converter auto, or change to a six-speed manual. A three-pedal shooting brake does sound extremely cool, no matter what the wheels look like.

Going by the Instagram caption, it's unclear if Callum will ever build a Vanquish shooting brake. It all depends on if the firm gets enough interest. We've seen crazier cars get the green light. So we have hope.

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