Ian Callum meets graffiti artist Mr Kaves and his one-off Jag [w/video]

A backstreet garage in Brooklyn, New York, is home to the company that preps Jaguars and Land Rovers for films and TV product placement. Hidden in the rear is a full-sized Thomas the Tank Engine, the presence of which no one can explain.

Nearer the front is an XKR, delivered a couple of days ago for a unique paint job. It's not the work of local hoodlums, though the guilty party admits he was no angel in his youth, tagging subway trains until he was arrested aged 14. As well as being handy with the spray-cans, 42-year-old Mr Kaves – real name Michael McLeer – is also an accomplished tattoo artist, musician and filmmaker.

The finished car looks stunning. With the words ‘Alive' and ‘Kaves' written in hotrod-style flames down the flanks, it has a narrowing red sports stripe running back to front over the roof. A cartoon racing driver, with Jaguar's Design Director's name Ian Callum on the helmet, dominates the hood. At opposite ends of the creative spectrum, the meeting of Mr Kaves and Mr Callum is a collision of two vastly different strands of design.

"I love it," admits Callum. "I had no idea what to expect, but I was hoping it would be as vibrant as it is. It's amazing that someone has the confidence to do something like this with a spray-can because there's no second chances."

Kaves is equally upbeat: "I'm sure it will shake up the Jaguar traditionalists but that's what artists are supposed to do," he laughs. "I would love to take it for a drive. There's no number plate on it but that's not stopped me before. I would love to take a ride with Ian, it's an honor to have him come and see the car."

The one-off model has been created as part of Jaguar's New York Motor Show announcement that the F-Type will go into production. It will appear at various automotive events this year then probably be auctioned for charity.

"This is my first car, I've never grafitti'd one before," explains Kaves, a member of the Lordz of Brooklyn hip-hop collective. "The spray-can is still part of what I do, but it's a smaller part, so doing this Jaguar was me going back to my roots. The lines of the car inspired me on what to do, something edgy and fast. You can overthink these things and I wanted it to be spontaneous."

Kaves says there were two big challenges. The first was how to deal with the XKR's many feature lines to give it a hot-rod style but so it kept its class. The second was all the bending over – he admits he isn't as young as he used to be. The final flourish was a coat of clear gloss to get rid of the spray paint matt.

The two designers spend several minutes chatting about their different career paths, but also common ground including Scottish heritage. Kaves explains how much of his early graffiti was about telling his story. "I'm Brooklyn born and bred, and it's about humble beginnings, being raised by my mother, being the oldest of three and wanting to make a name for myself. With three million people in Brooklyn that was a challenge."

Kaves' words strike a chord with Callum. "Designing a car is telling a story and that's what I tell my guys. It should have a beginning, middle and end." He also reveals while spray-cans aren't part of his creative toolbox today, he worked with airbrushes in his youth.

After a brief lesson from Kaves on spray-can etiquette, Callum tags the XKR's back bumper. "That's my name. Sort of," he jokes. "My new graffiti partner, coming to a town near you," replies Kaves.

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By Richard Yarrow