Influential British designer Tom Karen passed away on 31 December 2022, aged 96.
He played a key role in creating a variety of iconic 1960s and ’70s designs, including the Raleigh Chopper, the Bond Bug and Reliant Scimitar GTE.
Born in Vienna in 1926, Karen moved to England during the Second World War. He studied aeronautical design at Loughborough College before working for Hunting Percival Aircraft in Luton, followed by five years at Ford.
Tom Karen played a key role in the design of the Raleigh Chopper, which became a ’70s phenomenon © Autocar
He began a short stint at David Ogle’s design studio in Letchworth in 1959 before moving to Hotpoint and Philips, but returned to the Hertfordshire-based consultancy (renamed Ogle Design) in 1962 as managing director and chief designer after the death of company founder David Ogle.
It’s there where Karen penned many of his most imaginative designs.
During the ’60s, Karen and his team set about turning the slow-selling Reliant Scimitar GT into the trend-setting GTE.
The three-wheeled Bond Bug was another ground-breaking Ogle design © Autocar
