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 Sweden, Swedish multinational manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Torslanda, Gothenburg. The company manufactures SUVs, station wagons, and sedans. The co ...

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 s ...

) 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, Hjo, Korsberga, Skaraborg County, Sweden, the son of Gabr ...

still headed the company. Wilsgaard was one of twenty-five designers nominated for

Car Designer of the Century The Car Designer of the Century was an international award given to the most influential car designer of the 20th century. The election process was overseen by the Global Automotive Elections Foundation. The winner, Giorgetto Giugiaro, was announ ...

, and was followed at Volvo by the noted designer Peter Horbury.

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, 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. 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 interme ...

, 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 (1950) :* PV 179 (1952) :* Volvo Amazon (P1200/120) :* Volvo P1400 (1967)(Volvo 140) :* Volvo 164 :* Volvo 140 :* Volvo 240 :* Volvo 262C :* Volvo 740 :* Volvo 760 :* Volvo 780 :* Volvo 850

Personal life

Wilsgaard was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1930. His father was a Norwegian 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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, 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