Franz von Holzhausen

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Franz von Holzhausen
Franz von Holzhausen (cropped).jpg
von Holzhausen in 2008
Born (1968-05-10) May 10, 1968 (age 56)
Simsbury, Connecticut, United States
Education Syracuse University (1986–1988),
ArtCenter College of Design (1988–1992, BS in Transportation Design) [1]
Occupation(s)Chief Designer, Tesla Inc.
SpouseVicki von Holzhausen [2]
Children2 [3]

Franz von Holzhausen (born May 10, 1968) is an American vehicle designer. Since 2008, he has been in charge of design at Tesla, Inc. He led design for the Tesla Model S, Model X, Model 3, Model Y, Semi, Cybertruck, and Tesla Roadster (second generation). Prior to Tesla, he worked in design at Mazda, General Motors, and Volkswagen.

Contents

Career

In 1992, von Holzhausen started his career with Volkswagen, where he worked on the design for the New Beetle concept project, known as "Concept One," under design lead J Mays. [4]

In 2000, he moved to General Motors as a design manager, where he worked on the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice. [5]

In 2005, he took a role at Mazda, where he was chief of design. [6] He led the designs of the Mazda Kabura concept car that debuted at the 2006 North American International Auto Show and of the Mazda Furai concept car that was unveiled at the 2008 North American International Auto Show, both in Detroit. [7] [8] [6]

In 2008, [9] he went to work for Tesla, where he led the design of vehicles including the Model S, [10] Model X, [11] Model 3, [12] [13] Model Y, [14] Semi, [15] Cybertruck, [16] and second-generation Tesla Roadster. [17] He became known to a wide audience as the result of inadvertently smashing the windows of the Cybertruck during an unveiling event. [18] [19]

Personal life

Von Holzhausen was born in Simsbury, Connecticut. [20] [21] His father was an industrial designer who owned Group 4 Design in Simsbury. [22] An internship at his father's company introduced him to the ArtCenter College of Design, where he eventually got his degree. [23]

Von Holzhausen is married to Vicki von Holzhausen (née Vlachakis), whom he met when they were both automotive designers at General Motors. [24] Vicki is now the founder and CEO of von Holzhausen, a company that develops sustainable materials for the fashion and automotive industries. [25]

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">J Mays</span> American industrial designer (born 1954)

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The Mazda Kabura was a concept car shown by the Japanese manufacturer Mazda in 2006.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurens van den Acker</span> Dutch automobile designer

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tesla Roadster (first generation)</span> Electric convertible sports car produced 2008–2012

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Nagare(流, flow) is an automotive design language created by Franz von Holzhausen and Laurens van den Acker for Mazda. Incorporated into a number of concept cars, starting with the car of the same name, the Nagare design lineup was intended as a showcase of what Mazda's cars may have looked like in 2020.

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von Holzhausen is a textile material innovation company based in Los Angeles, California. The company uses plants, recycled fibers, and biodegradable materials to create sustainable materials at scale.

References

  1. ↑ Peters, Emma (August 4, 2015). "Five things we know about Tesla's elusive chief designer". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved November 7, 2020.
  2. ↑ "After jobs at Audi and Mercedes-Benz, Vicki von Holzhausen is redesigning fashion accessories in a big way". Los Angeles Times. September 14, 2017. Retrieved December 27, 2020.
  3. ↑ Segran, Elizabeth (March 19, 2021). "Tesla and Mercedes-Benz were just the warm-up act for this design power couple". Fast Company . Retrieved June 13, 2021.
  4. ↑ Loh, Edward (October 1, 2012). "Designers on Design: Franz von Holzhausen on the McLaren P1". wot.motortrend.com . Archived from the original on March 26, 2016. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  5. ↑ "MAZDA DESIGNER VON HOLZHAUSEN BOLTS FOR TESLA". Autoweek . August 4, 2008. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  6. 1 2 Nagy, Bob (September 26, 2006). "First Drive: Mazda Kabura Concept". Motor Trend . Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  7. ↑ "Franz von Holzhausen Joins Tesla Motors as Chief Designer". Tesla. April 20, 2010. Retrieved August 28, 2018.
  8. ↑ "Mazda Furai – Kelley Blue Book Interviews Franz Von Holzhausen – YouTube". YouTube . June 24, 2008. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved December 28, 2020.
  9. ↑ "Exclusive: Franz von Holzhausen joins Tesla Motors". cardesignnews.com. 2008. Archived from the original on August 9, 2008. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  10. ↑ Loveday, Eric (April 30, 2009). "Tesla Model S Designer Franz von Holzhausen Reveals How Perfectionism Drives Design". GreenCarReports.com. Retrieved March 19, 2016.
  11. ↑ "Detroit 2013: Tesla's Family Will Grow". automobilemag.com. January 15, 2013. Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved April 12, 2015.
  12. ↑ Cumberford, Robert (January 17, 2018). "The Man Behind the Model 3: Franz von Holzhausen". Automobile . Archived from the original on January 19, 2019. Retrieved January 19, 2019.
  13. ↑ My Tesla Adventure (May 16, 2018), Franz talks about the future of Tesla, archived from the original on December 21, 2021, retrieved July 10, 2019
  14. ↑ "Why Tesla Model Y 3rd Row Is Key To It Becoming The Best Selling Vehicle In The World". March 16, 2019.
  15. ↑ Pettitt, Jeniece (December 2022). "Tesla's chief designer for the Cybertruck on working with Elon Musk and how his favorite design is one he can't talk about yet". CNBC . Retrieved December 2, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Tesla Cybertruck Review 2024 | Top Gear". Top Gear. December 1, 2023. Archived from the original on December 8, 2024. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
  17. ↑ Mark Vaughn (November 17, 2017). "Tesla Roadster Sounds Incredible But Will It Be That Good?". AutoWeek.
  18. ↑ Vincent, James (November 25, 2019). "Elon Musk explains why Tesla's Cybertruck windows smashed during presentation". The Verge . Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  19. ↑ Mak, Aaron (November 22, 2019). "Here Is What Will and Won't Break Tesla's New Cybertruck". Slate . ISSN   1091-2339 . Retrieved August 10, 2023.
  20. ↑ "Designer Franz von Holzhausen: Courageous visionary". Archyde. July 24, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Tesla Delivers State's First Model S, Electric Car Designed By Simsbury Native". Hartford Courant. September 15, 2012. Retrieved June 2, 2024.
  22. ↑ Walford, Lynn (November 7, 2022). "Creating the Cybertruck & Vehicles that Change Lives – Tesla Designer Franz von Holzhausen". The NewsMarket. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  23. ↑ Afnan, Salman Ahmed (April 30, 2023). "The Tesla Master Designer: Turning Musk's Vision to Life". Tech Inspection. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  24. ↑ McClain, James (May 15, 2022). "Tesla's Chief Designer Pays $51 Million for Adam Levine's Palisades Estate". DIRT. Retrieved May 21, 2023.
  25. ↑ Hagman, Brian (January 31, 2024). "von Holzhausen: Interview with Founder & CEO, Vicki von Holzhausen". The EV Report. Retrieved March 19, 2024.


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