 | This article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page . (Learn how and when to remove these template messages)
|
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 template messages)
|
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. He trained himself for more than one year and became freer and freer in his style. 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 saw his talent and potential immediately and offered him a scholarship for the Royal College of Art in London, the international elite college in design. Himmel attended the full two-year master program and graduated in 1981 as ‘Master of Design’. These years in London, where he got to know people such as Raymond Loewy, were one of the most influencing times in his life.
After graduating he came back to the design centre of Audi in Ingolstadt, Germany, and started his career. Himmel was responsible for virtually the entire range of models from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s, like the Audi 80 Sedan, Avant, Coupe and Cabriolet, Audi 100 Sedan and Avant, and the Audi V8. In this creative environment 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. A design icon was born: the Audi Quattro Spyder, the highlight of the “Frankfurt IAA” in 1991 and a milestone in the design history of Audi.
In 1994, Erwin Leo Himmel realizing the establishment of the first external design centre of the whole Volkswagen Group in Europe. After a long process of searching, the strategic choice of location 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 successful designs as the Audi A8, S3 and RS4, and Volkswagen Touareg, Touran and essential parts of Golf IV and Phaeton were created.
At the end of 1999, Himmel was offered the position of chief designer at Skoda, but he decided instead to start his own business. And so he 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 the 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 great 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 Subaru B11S showed the new philosophy at the 2003 “Geneva Salon International de l’Auto”. The current models Subaru R1, R2 and B9 Tribeca were created by him, too. 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”. Himmel worked for almost every leading corporate group in the automotive sector. 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 and brought it back to life.
In 2019 Erwin Leo Himmel expanded Hispano Suiza with its own division for alternative drive technologies in the hydrogen sector. Since then, this department has been developing a further vehicle 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. [1]
In his time at Fuore, Himmel made a lot of industrial design, too. Panasonic signed a strategic relationship with Fuore. Out of it, 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 was transportation design, especially 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 of airplanes. His ‘biggest’ project was a cruise liner for an American ocean carrier. Furthermore, he also did a lot of work in the motorcycle industry. He designed nearly every kind of size, from the scooter up to the superbike, including the development of a new design language for the world’s biggest motorcycle producer Honda. A great pleasure for him was the work for the luxury industry, especially for TAG Heuer. Moreover, he designed a bath ceramic series, for example for Roca.
All these products gave Himmel the chance to broaden his horizon in design and marketing, concerning new markets, customers and their mentalities. With the new impressions, it was also possible for him to optimize the processes in the design development, including a faster and more efficient way in automobile design.
| 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-today |
| 2002 | Volkswagen Touareg | 2002-today |
| 2002 | Volkswagen Phaeton | 2002-today |
| 2003 | Volkswagen Touran | 2003-today |
| 2003 | Subaru R2 | 2003-today |
| 2005 | Subaru B9 Tribeca | 2005-today |
| 2005 | Subaru R1 | 2005-today |
| 2021 | Maguari HS1 GTC | 2021-today |
| 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 |
Automobiles Ettore Bugatti was a German then French manufacturer of high-performance automobiles. The company was founded in 1909 in the then-German city of Molsheim, Alsace, by the Italian-born industrial designer Ettore Bugatti. The cars were known for their design beauty and numerous race victories. Famous Bugatti automobiles include the Type 35 Grand Prix cars, the Type 41 "Royale", the Type 57 "Atlantic" and the Type 55 sports car.
SEAT S.A. is a Spanish car manufacturer, that sells its vehicles under the SEAT and Cupra brands. Founded on 9 May 1950, it was created as a joint venture between Spain's government-owned Instituto Nacional de Industria (INI), which held a majority stake, Spanish private banks, and Fiat. After being listed as an independent automaker for 36 years, the Spanish government sold SEAT to the Volkswagen Group in 1986, and it remains a fully owned subsidiary of the Group.
Hispano-Suiza is a Spanish automotive company. It was founded in 1904 by Marc Birkigt and Damià Mateu as an automobile manufacturer and eventually had several factories in Spain and France that produced luxury cars, aircraft engines, trucks and weapons. In 1923, its French luxury car arm became a semi-autonomous partnership with the Spanish parent company. In 1946, the parent company sold all of its Spanish automotive assets to Enasa, a Spanish state-owned vehicle manufacturer, and the French arm continued as an independent aviation engine and components manufacturer under the Hispano-Suiza name. In 1968, Hispano-Suiza was taken over by the aerospace company Snecma, which is now part of the French Safran Group. An attempt to relaunch the marque was made by the company Hispano Suiza Cars associated with the Peralada Group in 2019 with a fully-electric car.
Marc Birkigt was a Swiss engineer, automotive and aviation pioneer, and co-founder of Hispano-Suiza in 1904.
The Audi 50 is a small 'Supermini' car, produced by German automaker Audi from 1974 to 1978, and sold only in Europe. Introduced two and three years after the French Renault 5 and the Italian Fiat 127 respectively, the Audi 50 and its VW Polo twin were seen at the time as Germany's first home-grown entrant in Europe's emerging class of "supermini" hatchbacks, supplanting a generation of small and often rear-engined economy cars.
Automobile was an American automobile magazine published by the Motor Trend Group. A group of former employees of Car and Driver led by David E. Davis founded Automobile in 1986 with support from Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, using the credo No Boring Cars.Automobile distinguished itself as more of a lifestyle magazine than the other automotive publications, an editorial theme that Davis greatly expanded upon from his tenure as the editor of Car and Driver, though it was a sister publication to Motor Trend.
The Geneva International Motor Show is an annual auto show held in March in the Swiss city of Geneva.
The model of a car is its design, in the context of the manufacturer's range or series of cars. Different models are distinguishable by technology, components, underpinnings, and/or style and appearance.
Lists of automobile-related articles cover a wide range of topics related to cars. The lists are organized by manufacturer, region, sport, technology and so on.
4motion is a registered trademark of Volkswagen AG, used exclusively on Volkswagen-branded automobiles with four-wheel drive (4WD) systems. Volkswagen has previously used the term "Syncro" for its 4WD models, such as in Volkswagen T3.
Walter Maria de Silva is an Italian car designer and former head of Volkswagen Group Design, until 2015. Since beginning his car design career in 1972 as trainee car designer for Fiat's Style Centre. De Silva has also worked as a designer at I.DE.A Institute, and as head of design for Alfa Romeo, SEAT and the 'Audi brand group'. He is presently President of the Design Studio Walter De Silva & Partners.
The Los Angeles Auto Show, also known as the LA Auto Show, is an auto show held annually at the Los Angeles Convention Center in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is open to the public for ten days, filling 760,000 square feet (71,000 m2) of exhibit space. Since 2006 the event is held in November or December.
The 2006 Paris Motor Show took place from 30 September to 15 October 2006, in Paris expo Porte de Versailles, Paris, France.
Jozef Kabaň is a Slovak automobile designer. He started his career as a designer at Volkswagen. In 2003 he moved to Audi as an exterior design assistant. In 2007 he advanced to the position of Chief of Exterior Design at Audi. He was exterior designer of the Volkswagen Lupo, SEAT Arosa, Bugatti Veyron and Škoda Octavia. He has been Chief of Exterior Design at Škoda Auto since 2008. In early 2017 he left Škoda for BMW to become its head of design replacing Karim Habib. In 2019 he changed position within BMW Group and headed design at its subsidiary Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. After half a year he decided to leave Rolls-Royce and BMW Group returning to VW in January 2020, this time for its main VW brand. In early 2023, Kabaň was fired by Volkswagen and replaced by Bentley designer Andreas Mindt after failing to impress VW's CEO. Bentley replaced Mindt with Tobias Sühlmann.
The Montreal International Auto Show is an annual auto show held for 10 days in mid-to-late January in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It usually takes place at the Palais des congrès de Montréal.
The Auto Mobil International, also known as Leipzig Auto Show, is the first motor show organized by the Leipziger Messe since 1991, in Leipzig, Germany. Spring 1991 saw the first car show in eastern Germany following the country’s reunification, the previous year. Featuring 273 exhibitors, it drew 113,402 visitors. Auto Mobil International has evolved as a top annual European exhibition attracting more than 400 exhibitors from 20 countries and around 270,000 visitors from 50 nations. In addition to the IAA in Frankfurt, which takes place every two years, it is the second largest German car show. AMI introduced many innovations in the automotive sector, including over 100 world, European and Germany premieres. Since 2010 the show is held every two years.
In 2015 Spain produced 2.7 million cars which made it the 8th largest automobile producer country in the world and the 2nd largest car manufacturer in Europe after Germany. The forecast as of 2016 was to produce a total of 2.8 million vehicles from which about 80% is for export. During the first half of 2016, with exports valued over 24 billion euros over that period, the automotive industry accounted for 18.9% of the total Spanish exports.
The SEAT Fórmula is a rear-wheel-drive mid-engined roadster concept car developed by the Spanish carmaker SEAT initially aimed at limited car production. Designed at the Volkswagen Group's Design Center Europe at Sitges near Barcelona a facility jointly owned by Volkswagen, Audi and SEAT, it was penned by a team directed by Erwin Leo Himmel into which participated the Lotus Elise designer Julian Thomson exposing the design language of the future models of the brand.
The European Motor Show Brussels is an auto show held biennial in the city of Brussels, Belgium. The number of visitors is around 600,000. The show is organized by FEBIAC and is scheduled by the Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles.