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Erwin Leo Himmel (born April 9, 1956 in Graz, Austria) is an Austrian automobile designer.
| This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
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Erwin Leo Himmel (born April 9, 1956 in Graz, Austria) is an Austrian automobile designer.
Born as the second of two sons in 1956, Erwin Leo Himmel grew up in Leibnitz, Austria. After finishing high school, he started to study architecture at the Graz University of Technology. In the second year of his studies, he read an article about automobile design, where he recognized the existence of the profession of an automobile designer. While studying further he taught himself to sketch cars by copying drawings he found in magazines. After preparing a portfolio of his own designs, he applied for a job as an automobile designer in Germany. Getting accepted by Audi, Ford, and Volkswagen, Himmel decided to quit his studies and took the job at Audi. The former chief designer of Audi Hartmut Warkuss offered him a scholarship for the Royal College of Art in London. Himmel attended the full two-year master program and graduated in 1981.
After graduating he came back to the design centre of Audi in Ingolstadt, Germany, and started his career. Himmel worked on Audi models from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s such as the Audi 80 Sedan, Avant, Coupe and Cabriolet, Audi 100 Sedan and Avant, and the Audi V8. He enjoyed working together with other designers such as J Mays and Peter Schreyer. In 1990, he became Director of Audi’s Munich-based design studio where he had the idea to develop a new concept, the Audi Quattro Spyder, which appeared at the “Frankfurt IAA” in 1991.
In 1994, Erwin Leo Himmel helped establish the first external Volkswagen Group design centre in Europe. The choice of location eventually fell on Barcelona, Spain. A suitable piece of land was found in Sitges, a seaside town next to Barcelona. Himmel was responsible for the planning and realization of the newly built 130-people design facility, which was named “DCE – Design Centre Europe”. He worked there for Audi, Volkswagen, SEAT and Skoda. Such designs as the Audi A8, S3 and RS4, and Volkswagen Touareg, Touran and parts of the Golf IV and Phaeton were created.
At the end of 1999, Himmel was offered the position of chief designer at Skoda, but decided instead to start his own business. He then founded the independent 35-people design studio “Fuore Design” in the heart of Barcelona. Beside the core business of automotive design, he specialized in brand consulting.
He consulted Mitsubishi in their process of finding a new design language, and created two concept cars, the Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution and Pajero Evolution 2+2, which were presented at the 2001 “Frankfurt IAA” and the 2002 “Geneva Salon International de l’Auto”. After the feedback at the shows, Himmel was also responsible for the design development of the Dakar Rally multiple-champion racing car Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution.
Subaru had a strategic relationship with Fuore. Himmel developed a new brand design strategy. His concept car, the Subaru B11S, showed the new philosophy at the 2003 “Geneva Salon International de l’Auto”. The Subaru R1, R2 and B9 Tribeca were also created by him, too.[ citation needed ] With the ‘XF 10’ and the ‘BlackJag’, Himmel presented his first self-developed show cars at the 2003 “Barcelona Salón Internacional del Automóvil” and the 2004 “Geneva Salon International de l’Auto”. After a hard year in 2006 and a bad forecast of incoming contracts in 2007, Himmel did not see a good enough economic perspective to continue and decided to sell the company at the middle of 2007.
After selling Fuore Design in 2007, Erwin Leo Himmel dedicated himself to his dream goal of owning his own car brand in the luxury segment. After years of research and his activities in Barcelona, he noticed the historic automobile brand Hispano Suiza. Since the brand became free after decades of inactivity, Erwin Leo Himmel registered this brand in a few countries where the Hispano Suiza founding family Suqué Mateu did not renew the name registration and tried to bring it back to life. He then faced legal challenges from Hispano Suiza Cars, producers of the Carmen, who were associated with the Peralada Group owned by the Suqué Mateu family, descendants of one of Hispano-Suiza's original founders. [1]
In 2019 Erwin Leo Himmel expanded Hispano Suiza with its own division for alternative drive technologies in the hydrogen sector. This department was reportedly developing another model with a hydrogen drive in addition to the conventional model with a combustion engine.
In February 2022 the Hispano Suiza Engineering GmbH, of which Mr. Himmel was the Managing Director, declared bankruptcy with total debts of €4,7 Mio. against estimated assets of €42.800. [2]
In his time at Fuore, Himmel worked in industrial design as well. Panasonic signed a strategic relationship with Fuore. From this, Himmel created such things as a cell-phone, an MP3-player, a home cinema system, a telephone, an air conditioner and other white goods for Panasonic. He also worked for companies such as LG and Samsung. Another field he worked in was transportation design, including the exterior and interior design of trains. For example, Himmel developed the design of a new high-speed train for Talgo. He also designed interiors for airplanes. His ‘biggest’ project was a cruise liner for an American ocean carrier. Furthermore, he did work in the motorcycle industry, including the development of a new design language for Honda's motorcycle division. He also did work for the luxury industry, including TAG Heuer. Moreover, he designed a bath ceramic series for Roca.
| Launch | Vehicle | Production period |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Audi 80 Sedan (B3) | 1986-1991 |
| 1987 | Audi 90 Sedan (B3) | 1987-1991 |
| 1988 | Audi V8 quattro (D11) | 1988-1994 |
| 1988 | Audi Coupé (B3) | 1988-1996 |
| 1990 | Audi 100 Sedan (C4) | 1990-1997 |
| 1991 | Audi 80 Sedan (B4) | 1991-1994 |
| 1991 | Audi Cabriolet (Type 89) | 1991-2000 |
| 1991 | Audi 100 Avant (C4) | 1991-1998 |
| 1992 | Audi 80 Avant (B4) | 1992-1995 |
| 1997 | Volkswagen Golf IV (1J) | 1997-2003 |
| 1999 | Audi S3 (8L) | 1999-2003 |
| 1999 | SEAT Ibiza (6K GP01) | 1999-2002 |
| 2000 | Audi RS4 (B5) | 2000-2002 |
| 2002 | Audi A8 (D3) | 2002-2010 |
| 2002 | Volkswagen Touareg | 2002-2010 |
| 2002 | Volkswagen Phaeton | 2002-2011 |
| 2003 | Volkswagen Touran | 2003-2015 |
| 2003 | Subaru R2 | 2003-2010 |
| 2005 | Subaru B9 Tribeca | 2005-2007 |
| 2005 | Subaru R1 | 2005-2010 |
| 2021 | Maguari HS1 GTC | 2021 |
| Year | Concept car | Show |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Audi Quattro Spyder | Frankfurt IAA |
| 1998 | SEAT Bolero | Geneva Salon International de l’Auto |
| 1999 | SEAT Formula | Geneva Salon International de l’Auto |
| 2001 | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution | Frankfurt IAA |
| 2002 | Mitsubishi Pajero Evolution 2+2 | Geneva Salon International de l’Auto |
| 2003 | Subaru B11S | Geneva Salon International de l’Auto |
| 2003 | Fuore XF10 | Barcelona Salón Internacional del Automóvil |
| 2004 | Fuore BlackJag | Geneva Salon International de l’Auto |
| 2010 | Hispano Suiza Grand Turismo | Geneva Salon International de l’Auto |