Jan Wilsgaard (23 January 1930 – 6 August 2016) was the Chief Designer at

Volvo Cars Volvo Cars ( sv, Volvo personvagnar, styled VOLVO in the company's logo) is a Swedish multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Torslanda, Gothenburg. The company manufactures SUVs, station wagons, and sedans. The company's ...

from 1950–1990, having studied at the Gothenburg School of Applied Arts (now HDK, Högskolan för Design och Konsthantverk, at the

University of Gothenburg The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...

) before joining Volvo when co-founder

Assar Gabrielsson Assar Thorvald Nathanael Gabrielsson (13 August 1891 – 28 May 1962) was a Swedish industrialist and co-founder of Volvo. Early life Gabrielsson was born on 13 August 1891 in Korsberga, Skaraborg County, Sweden, the son of Gabriel Nathanael ...

still headed the company. Wilsgaard was one of twenty-five designers nominated for Car Designer of the Century, and was followed at Volvo by the noted designer

Peter Horbury Peter D. Horbury (born 27 January 1950)Uzel, Susan, ''The Yorkshire Post'', "Profile - Peter Horbury: Vice president’s lifelong hobby of making cars better by design", 29 Nov 2011 accessed 1 May 2020 is a British car designer who is Executive V ...

Background and Career

As Chief Designer, Wilsgaard designed all Volvo's projects during his tenure, with few exceptions (e.g., the Volvo P1900 Sport and P1800 Coupe). One of Wilsgaard's first jobs was to design better rear windows for the PV Duett Van, a prophetic project, given that Wilsgaard went on to design the estate versions of the company's Amazon, 145, 760 and 850 Series — during a period which saw Volvo become closely associated with the station wagon / estate body type. In addition to designing the Amazon, and 144, Wilsgaard also designed the highly regarded

Volvo 164 The Volvo 164 is a 4-door, 6-cylinder luxury sedan unveiled by Volvo at the Paris Motor Show early in October 1968 and first sold as a 1969 model. 46,008 164s were built before the car was succeeded by the 264 in 1975. The 164 was Volvo's first ...

, as well as his successful estate adaptation, the 1800ES, of the company's P1800 Coupe. According to Simon Lamarre, chief studio designer, "the 1800ES has become one of the icons for Volvo," inspiring the design of the

Volvo C30 The Volvo Group ( sv, Volvokoncernen; legally Aktiebolaget Volvo, shortened to AB Volvo, stylized as VOLVO) is a Swedish multinational manufacturing corporation headquartered in Gothenburg. While its core activity is the production, distributio ...

. When he designed the

Volvo 140 Series The Volvo 140 Series is a line of mid-size cars manufactured and marketed by Volvo from 1966 to 1974 in two- and four-door sedan (models 142 and 144 respectively) as well as five door station wagon (model 145) body styles—with numerous intermedi ...

, Wilsgaard employed a credo, "simple is beautiful". The design symbolized the car's robust, restrained quality. Regarding the enormous success of the Volvo 240 series in worldwide, Wilsgaard is said to have remarked ''"It might be because the car is a little square and sluggish, just like the Swedes themselves."'' Wilsgaard died on 6 August 2016.in memoriam of Jan Wilsgaard
Volvo cars styled by Jan Wilsgaard: :* P179, better known as the 'Margaret Rose' :*

Volvo Philip The Volvo Philip was a concept car that was built by Volvo in 1952. It was designed especially for the United States market and so was fitted with a prototype V8 engine called the B8B, which produced at 4000 rpm and was fitted with whitewall ...

(1950) :* PV 179 (1952) :*

Volvo Amazon The Volvo Amazon was a mid-sized car manufactured and marketed by Volvo Cars from 1956 to 1970 and introduced in the United States as the ''122S'' at the 1959 New York International Auto Show. The Amazon shared the wheelbase, tall posture and h ...

(P1200/120) :* Volvo P1400 (1967)(Volvo 140) :*

Volvo 140 The Volvo 140 Series is a line of mid-size cars manufactured and marketed by Volvo from 1966 to 1974 in two- and four-door sedan (models 142 and 144 respectively) as well as five door station wagon (model 145) body styles—with numerous interme ...

Volvo 240 __NOTOC__ Year 240 ( CCXL) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Sabinus and Venustus (or, less frequently, year 993 ''Ab u ...

Volvo 262C The Volvo 262C is the first luxury coupé made by Volvo, after the four-cylinder P1800. Based on the 264 six-cylinder saloon, the 262C was designed in-house by Volvo's Jan Wilsgaard, but largely built by Bertone in Turin for the 1977-1981 model y ...

Volvo 740 The Volvo 700 series is a range of executive cars produced by the Swedish manufacturer Volvo Cars from 1982 to 1992. The 700 series was introduced in 1982 with the luxurious 760, followed two years later by the lower priced 740 which capitalize ...

Volvo 760 The Volvo 700 series is a range of executive cars produced by the Swedish manufacturer Volvo Cars from 1982 to 1992. The 700 series was introduced in 1982 with the luxurious 760, followed two years later by the lower priced 740 which capitalize ...

Volvo 780 The Volvo 700 series is a range of executive cars produced by the Swedish manufacturer Volvo Cars from 1982 to 1992. The 700 series was introduced in 1982 with the luxurious 760, followed two years later by the lower priced 740 which capitalize ...

Volvo 850 The Volvo 850 is a compact executive car that was produced by the Swedish manufacturer Volvo Cars from 1991 until 1996. Designed by Jan Wilsgaard, the car was introduced in a saloon body style; an estate style was introduced in 1993. The Volv ...

Personal life

Wilsgaard was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1930. His father was a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

sailor. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, his family fled from Norway to Sweden. Wilsgaard died on 6 August 2016.

References

External links

HDK Högskolan för Design och Konsthantverk ''(Highschool for Design and Construction)''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilsgaard, Jan 1930 births 2016 deaths Swedish automobile designers Norwegian automobile designers Volvo people People from Brooklyn Norwegian expatriates in Sweden

Background and Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links