Famous Rolls-Royce and BMW designer murdered in apparent car theft

Ian Cameron, the man who is essentially solely responsible for the renaissance of Rolls-Royce design after the takeover by BMW in 2003, was stabbed to death on July 12 in his house on Lake Ammersee in BavariaAuthorities suspect that the unknown attacker, who fled the scene, attempted steal a valuable car out of Cameron’s extensive collectionand seem to indicate that the house had been scouted for some time before the altercation. Cameron’s wife, the artist and designer Verena Kloos, was able to escape the attacker by climbing over a wall to a neighbor’s house and alerting the emergency services.

Cameron retired from Rolls-Royce in 2012 after leading the luxury brand’s redesign over the past decade. His work has included the Phantom and Ghost models. When he was promoted to head of design at Rolls, he had already been with the BMW Group for 11 years. He is responsible for the design of the beautiful Z8 grand tourer and the hugely popular third-generation Range Rover when Land Rover was still owned by BMW.

Before joining BMW, Cameron began his design career at Pininfarina before working on large trucks at Iveco.

“We are deeply shocked and saddened by the news about our former Rolls-Royce designer. Our thoughts are with his family and friends in these difficult times,” BMW said in an email to Automotive News Europe“Ian has played a significant role in the development of Rolls-Royce since the company was acquired by the BMW Group and was based in Goodwood, West Sussex,” Rolls-Royce said in a separate statement. “During his tenure, Ian led the design team for all models in the Phantom family and Ghost, creating thoroughly contemporary cars that remained true to the marque’s design lineage.”

German newspaper Picture announced that the video surveillance system in Cameron’s house had been interrupted. In Germany, a nationwide manhunt is underway for the suspect, who is described as being between 180 and 190 cm tall and wearing a dark hoodie and light trousers. He was carrying a red backpack that may have been found on the promenade at Ammersee. He also wore yellow-green gloves. The area was searched with dogs, divers and drones, but the killer appears to have remained uncaught so far.