Tesla Motors is ramping up its ongoing battle with Henrik Fisker's Fisker Automotive, hiring celebrity designer Franz von Holzhausen away from Mazda to head up a new in-house design organization.
Von Holzhausen's departure from Mazda, where he was director of design at the automaker's R&D center in Irvine, California, was confirmed Monday by Mazda executives.
Contacted Monday by Inside Line, Tesla spokesman Darryl Siry said, "I wasn't planning to announce it (von Holzhausen's hiring) until Monday." But he confirmed a story that broke first on CarDesignNews.com that von Holzhausen has been recruited to be design director. The Web site quoted von Holzhausen as saying, "It's going to be an exciting adventure. I'm looking forward to working at a new startup company that doesn't have the confines of a large OEM."
In fact, von Holzhausen described in various media reports as a "golden boy" and "the current rock star of the automobile design world" made his reputation in recent years at Mazda North America, where he headed concept and production design, including such key projects as the Kabura, Nagare and Furai.
Before he joined Mazda in early 2005, von Holzhausen, a graduate of Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, caught the media's eye with his stunning 2002 Pontiac Solstice concept, done while he was design manager at General Motors' West Coast studio in Thousand Oaks. Earlier, as a young designer at Volkswagen, von Holzhausen worked on such influential projects as the Concept One (the predecessor of the New Beetle) and the Microbus.
Although he may seem like the quintessential surfer dude, von Holzhausen was born and raised back east, in Simsbury, Connecticut, studying initially at Syracuse University before transferring to Art Center.
In his new gig with Tesla, von Holzhausen plans to set up a new design team based in Southern California.
He told CarDesignNews.com: "Tesla is changing the paradigm. We're going to turn the world on its ear and create high demand through design. There is a new hunger in the air for automotive design and looking to where automobiles are going in the future. Tesla will capture this through good design and engineering."
What this means to you: Future vehicles from Tesla could look considerably sexier, judging from von Holzhausen's bulging portfolio of sensational designs.
Von Holzhausen's departure from Mazda, where he was director of design at the automaker's R&D center in Irvine, California, was confirmed Monday by Mazda executives.
Contacted Monday by Inside Line, Tesla spokesman Darryl Siry said, "I wasn't planning to announce it (von Holzhausen's hiring) until Monday." But he confirmed a story that broke first on CarDesignNews.com that von Holzhausen has been recruited to be design director. The Web site quoted von Holzhausen as saying, "It's going to be an exciting adventure. I'm looking forward to working at a new startup company that doesn't have the confines of a large OEM."
In fact, von Holzhausen described in various media reports as a "golden boy" and "the current rock star of the automobile design world" made his reputation in recent years at Mazda North America, where he headed concept and production design, including such key projects as the Kabura, Nagare and Furai.
Before he joined Mazda in early 2005, von Holzhausen, a graduate of Pasadena's Art Center College of Design, caught the media's eye with his stunning 2002 Pontiac Solstice concept, done while he was design manager at General Motors' West Coast studio in Thousand Oaks. Earlier, as a young designer at Volkswagen, von Holzhausen worked on such influential projects as the Concept One (the predecessor of the New Beetle) and the Microbus.
Although he may seem like the quintessential surfer dude, von Holzhausen was born and raised back east, in Simsbury, Connecticut, studying initially at Syracuse University before transferring to Art Center.
In his new gig with Tesla, von Holzhausen plans to set up a new design team based in Southern California.
He told CarDesignNews.com: "Tesla is changing the paradigm. We're going to turn the world on its ear and create high demand through design. There is a new hunger in the air for automotive design and looking to where automobiles are going in the future. Tesla will capture this through good design and engineering."
What this means to you: Future vehicles from Tesla could look considerably sexier, judging from von Holzhausen's bulging portfolio of sensational designs.
