Ricardo "Dick" Burzi was an Argentinian

automotive design Automotive design is the process of developing the appearance (and to some extent the ergonomics) of motor vehicles - including automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, buses, coaches, and vans. The functional design and development of a modern moto ...

er, best known for his work with the

Austin Motor Company The Austin Motor Company Limited was an English manufacturer of motor vehicles, founded in 1905 by Herbert Austin in Longbridge. In 1952 it was merged with Morris Motors Limited in the new holding company British Motor Corporation (BMC) Limi ...

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

, England. Burzi was born in

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

, the capital of Argentina, to a French mother. By 1929 he was working in Italy for

Lancia Lancia () is an Italian car manufacturer and a subsidiary of FCA Italy S.p.A., which is currently a Stellantis division. The present legal entity of Lancia was formed in January 2007 when its corporate parent reorganised its businesses, but it ...

, but was forced to leave after drawing cartoons belittling

Benito Mussolini Benito Amilcare Andrea Mussolini (; 29 July 188328 April 1945) was an Italian politician and journalist who founded and led the National Fascist Party. He was Prime Minister of Italy from the March on Rome in 1922 until his deposition in 194 ...

that were published in several newspapers. Lancia initially moved Burzi to their coachbuilding firm in Paris, but he was recruited by Lord Austin in 1929 to work at

Longbridge Longbridge is an area of Northfield in the south-west of Birmingham, England, located near the border with Worcestershire. Public Transport Longbridge is described as a hub for public transport with a number of bus services run by Kev's Coa ...

in Birmingham after Austin received a recommendation from

Vincenzo Lancia Vincenzo Lancia (24 August 1881 – 15 February 1937) was an Italian racing driver, engineer and founder of Lancia. Vincenzo Lancia was born in the small village of Fobello on 24 August 1881, close to Turin; his family tree starts in Fabello ...

, whom he met while travelling on the '' Queen Mary'' to the United States. Burzi arrived at Longbridge speaking no English but was soon known universally as "Dick". His first designs for the

Austin 16 The Austin Sixteen Light Six is a British car that was made by Austin from 1927. Announced in October 1927, the first deliveries were planned for March 1928.Austin, ''The Times'', Tuesday, Oct 18, 1927; pg. 10; Issue 44715. To distinguish th ...

were considered too advanced for conservative British tastes by Lord Austin, but in 1938 Burzi was appointed head of styling by the incoming works manager at Longbridge,

Leonard Lord Leonard Percy Lord, 1st Baron Lambury KBE (15 November 1896 – 13 September 1967) was a captain of the British motor industry. Background and education Leonard Percy Lord was born on 16 November 1896 and was the youngest child in his family ...

. Burzi's Italian background saw him interned on the

Isle of Man ) , anthem = "O Land of Our Birth" , image = Isle of Man by Sentinel-2.jpg , image_map = Europe-Isle_of_Man.svg , mapsize = , map_alt = Location of the Isle of Man in Europe , map_caption = Location of the Isle of Man (green) in Europe ...

when Italy entered the Second World War, but he was released in 1943 and started work on designing the

Austin A40 A number of different automobiles were marketed under the Austin A40 name by Austin between 1947 and 1967. Austin's naming scheme at that time derived from the approximate engine output, in horsepower. Therefore, the models were also given name ...

. Notable cars designed by Burzi in the post-war era included the

Austin A30 The Austin A30 is a small family car produced by Austin from May 1952 to September 1956. It was launched at the 1951 Earls Court Motor Show as the "''New'' Austin Seven" and was Austin's competitor with the Morris Minor. At launch, the car co ...

, the

Austin A70 The Austin A70 Hampshire and later Austin A70 Hereford are cars that were produced by Austin of Britain from 1948 until 1954. They were conventional body-on-frame cars with similar styling to the smaller A40 Devon and A40 Somerset models respe ...

and the Austin A90.

References

Argentine automobile designers People interned in the Isle of Man during World War II Year of death missing Year of birth missing British automobile designers {{Argentina-bio-stub