Franz von Holzhausen

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Franz von Holzhausen in the foreground with Tesla CEO Elon Musk
The Tesla Model S was the first realized design by Franz von Holzhausen at Tesla Motors. The previous model was based on a body from Lotus .
The Mazda Nagare that von Holzhausen designed with his Californian design team
The Saturn Sky , one of the three models Holzhausen for the Kappa platform from General Motors designed

Franz von Holzhausen (born May 10, 1968 in Simsbury , Hartford County ) is an American automobile designer . After positions as Assistant Chief Designer at Volkswagen , Design Manager at General Motors , Director of Design at Mazda North America, he is now the Chief Designer ( English Senior Design Executive ) of Tesla Motors . His most famous designs are the Tesla Model S and Tesla Cybertruck electric cars .

Life path

Franz von Holzhausen studied industrial design at Syracuse University from 1986 to 1988 . From 1988 to 1992 he studied at the Art Center College of Design , where he graduated in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in transportation design . From June 1992 to January 2000 he worked as Assistant Chief Designer at Volkswagen , where he was involved in numerous projects from the Concept One project study to the Microbus .

From 2000 to 2005 he was Design Director for General Motors. During this time he was responsible for the design of the Pontiac Solstice , the Saturn Sky and the Opel GT , all of which were based on the Kappa platform. The Solstice won both the Car of the Year title and the 2006 Design of the Year award in the United States .

From February 2005 to August 2008, von Holzhausen worked as Director of Design at the Mazda North American Design Center . There a team under his leadership was responsible for the development of the Mazda Nagare , which was fundamental for the future overall design concept of Mazda. He and his Californian team also developed the design of the Mazda Furai racing car prototype . Von Holzhausen was responsible for the facelift of the Mazda RX-8 , Mazda Tribute , Mazda5 and was involved in the design development of Mazda6 and Mazda3 .

He has been chief designer at Tesla Motors since August 2008, after being recruited by its CEO Elon Musk . There he first developed the design of the Model S , which Musk conceived. He is also in charge of design development for the SUV / van crossover Model X , Tesla Model Y and the second generation of the Tesla Roadster sports car . He also worked on the cybertruck.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b linkedin.com
  2. ↑ teslamotors.com
  3. ↑ mazdausa.com
  4. ↑ mazdausa.com
  5. ↑ New Tesla Roadster announced: 0-60 in 1.9 seconds? November 17, 2017, accessed December 4, 2018 .
personal data
SURNAME von Holzhausen, Franz
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American automobile designer, chief designer of Tesla Motors, designer of the Tesla Model S.
DATE OF BIRTH May 10, 1968
PLACE OF BIRTH Simsbury , Connecticut