SiriusXM's 'Auto Trends' Black History Spotlight: Designer Chris Benjamin Resurrects A Car Brand Birthed 65 Years Ago

Chief Design Officer Chris Benjamin is posing with one of the vehicles his team created. (Photo Credit: Scout Motors)

Chris Benjamin, a native New Yorker, has joined an exclusive club, becoming one of a handful of Black automotive designers in the world to head a design studio.

Like the elite club of the four Black quarterbacks who have led their teams to the finish line in the Super Bowl, Benjamin finds himself in a car club just as exclusive as the Black NFL winning Super Bowl quarterbacks.

Creme de la Creme of Car Designers and Black History

Benjamin follows in the footsteps of retired auto executive Ed Welburn, who was the first Black designer to reach the pinnacle of car design. During Welburn's tenure, he became General Motors' first vice president of global design. 

And up until recently, MINI Design's Oliver Heilmer headed the studio in Germany for eight years. Heilmer led his team to create the iconic brand's first electric car, before stepping down to a new role.

While over in California, Mullen Automotive's Andre Hudson, who was also Hyundai's first Black car designer, is holding it down as the vice president of design for an electric vehicle start-up. Meanwhile, Benjamin's former boss, Ralph Gilles, is steering several brands as the chief design officer at Stellantis. 

Gilles, who is currently the highest-ranking Black car designer in the industry, oversees Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram, Maserati and FIAT. 

On the hand, while Black men are making inroads in the NFL winning quarterback club and automotive design field, it hasn't been the same for Black women. Ironically, while Black women register slightly more new vehicles in their name, when compared to Black men, according to S & P Global Mobility, this group haven't been afforded the same opportunities as other groups in the highly competitive field of car design.  

Chris Benjamin is debuting two new Scout Motors utility vehicles. (Photo Credit: Scout Motors)

Fast forward in 2023, after over two decades of criss-crossing the globe, designing cars, Benjamin earned the keys to steer Scout Motors.

Scout Motors, an American-based electric vehicle start-up, is funded and owned by the Volkswagen Group. More importantly, Benjamin has become the first Black car designer in the history of the Volkswagen Group to guide a studio. The Volkswagen Group consists of Volkswagen, Porsche, Audi, Cupra, Skoda, Lamborghini and Bentley. 

Chris Benjamin's First International Radio Conversation As Chief Design Officer

Benjamin joins Auto Trends with JeffCars.com, a syndicated multicultural automotive program, to talk about the winding road he took, no pun intended, designing for Mercedes-Benz, BMW Group Designworks, Volvo and Stellantis, before landing his current gig.

In fact, two of the vehicles currently hitting the streets, the Dodge Daytona and the Jeep Wagoneer S, have Benjamin's fingerprints stamped throughout the interior. 

Moreover, like in the movie Love & Basketball starring Sanaa Latham and Omar Epps, the global car designer shares pivotal points in his life when he first fell in love with cars (and how he kept steering back to his first love when there was doubt about his future while attending community college).

The Scout Traveler SUV (r) and Scout Terra truck (l) were conceived under Benjamin's guidance. (Photo Credit: Scout Motors)

Furthermore, the highly focused chief designer officer wraps up the fast paced talk discussing the two Scout Motors vehicles he led his team to conceive and the inspiration behind them. Unlike his former boss Ralph Gilles, the artistic Benjamin has been tasked with creating the design theme for a brand that has been dormant for over four decades. International Harvester introduced the first Scout model in 1960. 

Based upon early observations, it seems as though his team has nailed it, breathing life into an off-road brand, while modernizing it for the slowly evolving electric vehicle revolution. 

Lastly, the designer shares when his masterpiece on wheels will be available for consumer purchase and how any thoughts of experiencing range anxiety with Scout Motors electric vehicles are virtually eliminated.

How To Tune In On SiriusXM And Free FM/Online Radio Outlets

The conversation airs Saturday, February 15 thru Thursday, February 20. To hear the program on SiriusXM and other radio outlets, click here.