Edsel Keith Helfet (born June 1946)
is a South African automotive designer.
After demonstrating little academic promise in
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...
, Helfet turned to art. He had a natural affinity for automotive design and was accepted as a student into the most prestigious automotive styling programme in the world at the
Royal College of Art
The Royal College of Art (RCA) is a public university, public research university in London, United Kingdom, with campuses in South Kensington, Battersea and White City, London, White City. It is the only entirely postgraduate art and design uni ...
in London.
A native of South Africa, Helfet became the Principal Stylist at
Jaguar
The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large felidae, cat species and the only extant taxon, living member of the genus ''Panthera'' that is native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the biggest cat spe ...
where his work was admired by Sir
William Lyons
Sir William Lyons"Sir William Lyons – The Official Biography" by Philip Porter & Paul Skilleter, Haynes Publishing (4 September 1901 – 8 February 1985), known as "Mr. Jaguar", was with fellow motorcycle enthusiast William Walmsley, the c ...
who had shaped the character of design at the brand for decades.
Helfet designed the Jaguar
XJ-220,
XK-180 and the unproduced
Jaguar F-Type Concept Car.
Helfet now runs his own design company, Helfet Design.
References
Sources
Brother-in-Law, The Designer
* ttps://archive.today/20130415075753/http://www.jag-lovers.org/brochures/xk180/xk180prtext.txt/ THE JAGUAR XK180 A CONCEPT ROADSTER FOR THE NEW MILLENNIUMbr>Jaguar F-Type
Alumni of the Royal College of Art
Living people
1946 births
South African automobile designers
South African motorsport people
{{SouthAfrica-bio-stub