It wasn’t a bourgeois saloon either, finally doing away with that silly remnant of the carriage age – the separate boot, without being, well, a craftsman’s car. It wasn’t some stuffy estate car (those were only really for craftsmen and catholic families anyway), yet almost as practical. Aerodynamically efficient and avant-garde in its appearance, the fastback acted as the stylistic embodiment of the progressive values of the 1970s. The other The Car Of The Future, photo (c) Avengers in Timeįorty years ago, the car body shape of now, and presumably the future too, was the fastback. He's now Tesla's CFO.Hidden in the shadow of the Sports Utility Vehicle’s claims for world domination, another, hitherto almost extinct category of automobile has gained some new-found relevance. veteran who was most recently the controller for its small-car development program, and before that was chief financial officer of its South Africa subsidiary. Von Holzhausen is the second executive to defect from an established automaker to Tesla recently, joining Deepak Ahuja, a 15-year Ford Motor Co.

Tesla sued Fisker earlier this year and the two sides are heading to arbitration. Henrik Fisker, formerly with Aston Martin and other companies, did styling for the WhiteStar sedan (now the Model S), though the company says the car has 'evolved' since then. Von Holzhausen is not the first well-known designer to work with Tesla. 'A designer of his talent is in demand,' said Jay Amestoy, vice president of public and government affairs for Mazda's North American operations.Īmestoy wouldn't reveal the time line for naming a replacement, but said the automaker will continue with its 'wind-based' concepts, which feature flowing lines and have grabbed headlines on the auto-show circuit in recent years. Mazda was surprised by von Holzhausen's move, but noted competition for top designers is fierce. Plans for the L.A.-based studio haven't been announced yet, but von Holzhausen said to expect something in the near future. He also said he is excited by the freedom he'll get in 'pushing the boundaries of modern design' at Tesla, and he said one of his goals is to help transition electric cars away from quirky, off-beat concepts to mainstream design.Īs Tesla grows, von Holzhausen will be charged with assembling an in-house design staff for the automaker. 'For me that's the attraction-to kind of change it up and create a product that's not destroying the planet,' he said. Von Holzhausen said the allure of working for a small, environmentally friendly car company drove him to make the switch from Mazda. He started at Volkswagen and worked on the Concept One and Microbus. His work at GM included head-turners such as the Saturn Sky and Pontiac Solstice. He has been involved in some of the Japanese automaker's most eye-catching concepts and its design language, called Nagare, which evokes wind in styling cues.Įarlier in his career, von Holzhausen was design manager for General Motors. Von Holzhausen, 40, is considered one of the industry's rising stars and had been design director at Mazda in Irvine, Calif., since 2005. His last day at Mazda was July 31, and he is now working at Tesla. He reports directly to Tesla chairman Elon Musk. He'll have a hand in all of Tesla's future designs, including the Model S sedan, and a freshening of the roadster. Von Holzhausen is now Tesla's chief designer and will head a studio the automaker is considering opening in the Los Angeles area. One of the auto industry's rock-star designers, Franz von Holzhausen, has bolted Mazda for upstart electric-car company Tesla Motors.

Franz von holzhausen