Count Albrecht von Goertz, also known as Albrecht Goertz (German: ''Albrecht
Graf
(feminine: ) is a historical title of the German nobility, usually translated as "count". Considered to be intermediate among noble ranks, the title is often treated as equivalent to the British title of "earl" (whose female version is "coun ...
von Schlitz genannt von Goertz und von Wrisberg''; 12 January 1914 – 27 October 2006), was a German
industrial design
Industrial design is a process of design applied to physical Product (business), products that are to be manufactured by mass production. It is the creative act of determining and defining a product's form and features, which takes place in advan ...
er who designed cars for
BMW, including the
BMW 503
The BMW 503 is a two-door 2+2 gran turismo in both Coupé and Cabriolet form manufactured by German automaker BMW from 1956 until 1959. The company developed the 503 alongside the 507 roadster in an attempt to sell a significant number of lu ...
and
BMW 507
The BMW 507 is a roadster that was produced by BMW from 1956 until 1959. Initially intended to be exported to the United States at a rate of thousands per year, it ended up being too expensive, resulting in a total production figure of 252 cars ...
.
He also was an early contributor to the design of the legendary
Toyota 2000GT
The Toyota 2000GT is a limited-production Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout#Front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front mid-engine, rear-wheel-drive, two-door, two-seat sports car/grand tourer designed by Toyota in collaboration with Yam ...
and the first generation
Nissan Silvia
The is the series of small sports cars produced by Nissan. Versions of the Silvia have been marketed as the 200SX or 240SX for export, with some export versions being sold under the Datsun brand.
The name "Silvia" is derived from Sylvia, t ...
.
["Stereotype shatterer: Toyota’s first U.S. market 2000GT", Kurt Ernst, August 20, 2015]
/ref>
Early life
He was born at Brunkensen in Lower Saxony
Lower Saxony (german: Niedersachsen ; nds, Neddersassen; stq, Läichsaksen) is a German state (') in northwestern Germany. It is the second-largest state by land area, with , and fourth-largest in population (8 million in 2021) among the 16 ...
, the second of three children of Rudolf Graf von Schlitz genannt von Goertz und von Wrisberg (1884–1933) and his wife, Else Meyer (1882–1968). His elder brother Eberhard died in 1951, and while Albrecht did not technically inherit the honorific , he began to call himself "The Count," and is often referred to that way.
After attending school, Goertz was apprenticed to Deutsche Bank
Deutsche Bank AG (), sometimes referred to simply as Deutsche, is a German multinational investment bank and financial services company headquartered in Frankfurt, Germany, and dual-listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange and the New York Sto ...
in Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
and then in London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
at a private bank, Helbert Wagg & Co, but his prospects were not good, so he immigrated to the United States of America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...
in 1936. He eventually moved to Los Angeles
Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
, where he worked at a car wash
A car wash, carwash, or auto wash is a facility used to clean the exterior, and in some cases the interior of motor vehicles. Car washes can be self-service, full-service (with attendants who wash the vehicle), or fully automated (possi ...
and in a factory making aircraft engines. In 1938, Goertz rented a garage and showroom, and he modified Ford Model A and B models. On a Mercury
Mercury commonly refers to:
* Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun
* Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg
* Mercury (mythology), a Roman god
Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to:
Companies
* Merc ...
chassis, he built a two-door coupe called the "Paragon". This was exhibited in 1939 at the World Exhibition
A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...
in New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
.
Studebaker and BMW designs
Goertz joined the US Army
The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...
in 1940 and served for five years. After leaving the army, he drove the Paragon to New York City and, while driving it, he accidentally encountered Raymond Loewy, the famous car designer. Loewy invited Goertz to his office, sent him to college to learn about design, and later gave him a job at the Studebaker
Studebaker was an American wagon and automobile manufacturer based in South Bend, Indiana, with a building at 1600 Broadway, Times Square, Midtown Manhattan, New York City. Founded in 1852 and incorporated in 1868 as the Studebaker Brothers M ...
studio in Indiana
Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...
.
In 1953, Goertz set up his own design business and got to know Max Hoffman
Maximilian Edwin Hoffman (12 November 1904 in Vienna, Austria – 9 August 1981), was an Austrian-born, New York-based importer of luxury European automobiles into the United States during the 1950s.
Known equally for his acumen and influe ...
, BMW's main importer in America. Hoffman knew of BMW's plans to build a sports car and suggested that Goertz should contact BMW in Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
. Goertz then designed the BMW 503
The BMW 503 is a two-door 2+2 gran turismo in both Coupé and Cabriolet form manufactured by German automaker BMW from 1956 until 1959. The company developed the 503 alongside the 507 roadster in an attempt to sell a significant number of lu ...
and the BMW 507
The BMW 507 is a roadster that was produced by BMW from 1956 until 1959. Initially intended to be exported to the United States at a rate of thousands per year, it ended up being too expensive, resulting in a total production figure of 252 cars ...
, both in 1955.
Other car designs
Goertz claimed that he worked for Porsche
Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
, although this 'work' seems to have been an unsolicited 'design' submission for the 901, which was rejected. However, he was employed as a consultant to Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
– visiting the factory intermittently over a limited period, mainly to instruct in full-size clay modelling. He also carried out consultation work on a two-seater sports car project for Nissan, called the Project "A550X" which became the Datsun Coupe 1500 and debuted as the Nissan Silvia CSP311. Goertz then worked with Nissan, in collaboration with company technical partner Yamaha Motor Company
is a Japanese multinational manufacturer of motorcycles, marine products such as boats and outboard motors, and other motorized products. The company was established in 1955 upon separation from Yamaha Corporation (however, Yamaha Corporatio ...
, to develop a world-class sports car.[ By the time the prototype was ready for display in 1965, Nissan had abandoned the project, leaving partner Yamaha to offer the car to ]Toyota
is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
, then perceived as the most conservative of the Japanese car manufacturers. Looking to add its own touch to what became the iconic 2000GT, Toyota tasked designer Satoru Nozaki to finalize the car's narrow-waisted shape, clearly influenced by British and Italian ''gran turismo'' designs of the day.[
Goertz's last design was a grand piano for ]Steinway & Sons
Steinway & Sons, also known as Steinway (), is a German-American piano company, founded in 1853 in Manhattan by German piano builder Henry E. Steinway, Heinrich Engelhard Steinweg (later known as Henry E. Steinway). The company's growth led to ...
to celebrate the 125th anniversary of their Hamburg factory.
Personal life
Goertz married Julie Freiin
(; male, abbreviated as ), (; his wife, abbreviated as , literally "free lord" or "free lady") and (, his unmarried daughters and maiden aunts) are designations used as titles of nobility in the German-speaking areas of the Holy Roman Empire ...
von Bodenhausen (1902–1951), but they separated in 1942. He then married Susanne Nettel (b. 1925) in 1957 and they had a son, Peter Joseph, who was born in 1959.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Goertz, Albrecht Von Goertz
1914 births
2006 deaths
German automobile designers
Counts of Germany
United States Army soldiers
United States Army personnel of World War II