Uwe Bahnsen (1930 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

– 30 July 2013 in south-west France) was an accomplished German painter, sculpter and

car 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, widely noted for his 28-year career at

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. The company sells automobi ...

, where he designed the second-generation

Mercury Capri Capri (later Mercury Capri) is a nameplate marketed by the Lincoln-Mercury division of Ford Motor Company on three distinct series of automobiles between 1970 and 1994. From 1970 to 1978, the Capri was a sport compact marketed in North America ...

(1973), the

Ford Scorpio The Ford Scorpio is an executive car that was produced by Ford Europe from 1985 to 1998. It was the replacement for the European Ford Granada line (although in the UK and Ireland the Scorpio was marketed under the Granada name until 1994). Li ...

and notably, the highly aerodynamic and unconventional

Ford Sierra The Ford Sierra is a mid-size car or large family car manufactured and marketed by Ford Europe from 1982-1993, designed by Uwe Bahnsen, Robert Lutz and Patrick le Quément — and noted for its aerodynamic styling producing a drag coeffi ...

— which

CAR A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

magazine introduced with the headline ''"Sierra Shock"'' in 1982, After struggling against conventional competitors, the Sierra ultimately proved stylistically prescient, successful in the marketplace — and highly influential within the industry. After his career at Ford, Bahnsen became a teacher, served as a director at Switzerland's

Art Center College of Design Art Center College of Design (stylized as ArtCenter College of Design) is a private art college in Pasadena, California. History ArtCenter College of Design was founded in 1930 in downtown Los Angeles as the Art Center School. In 1935, Fred R. ...

in Vevey and subsequently served as president of the International Council of Societies of Design. By the time of his death in 2013, Bahsen was recognized as one of the most influential European automotive designers of the 20th Century.

Background

Uwe Bahnsen was born in 1930 in

Hamburg (male), (female) en, Hamburger(s), Hamburgian(s) , timezone1 = Central (CET) , utc_offset1 = +1 , timezone1_DST = Central (CEST) , utc_offset1_DST = +2 , postal ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. After an apprenticeship as a

window dresser Window dressers are retail workers who arrange displays of goods in shop windows or within a shop itself. Such displays are themselves known as "window dressing". They may work for design companies contracted to work for clients or for department s ...

Bahnsen studied at the

College of Fine Arts The School of Fine Arts or College of Fine Arts is the official name or part of the name of several schools of fine arts, often as an academic part of a larger university. These include: The Americas North America *Alabama School of Fin ...

in Hamburg. From 1958 to 1986 he held various positions with

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

Europe, ultimately as vice president for design. During this time his designs included the Taunus 17m and the

Capri Capri ( , ; ; ) is an island located in the Tyrrhenian Sea off the Sorrento Peninsula, on the south side of the Gulf of Naples in the Campania region of Italy. The main town of Capri that is located on the island shares the name. It has been ...

II. Bahnsen was also a motor sport enthusiast, and in the 1960s he organised a Ford Works Team. He was a team member involved with the design of the Mk1 Capri, working with chief stylist Phil Clark. Ford Sierra mit Baustelle (cropped version)

Ford Sierra mit Baustelle (cropped version)

By the mid 1970s, Bahnsen had risen to become the Vice President of design for Ford of Europe, and moved the company away from the "

coke bottle Coca-Cola, or Coke, is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by the Coca-Cola Company. Originally marketed as a temperance drink and intended as a patent medicine, it was invented in the late 19th century by John Stith Pemberton in Atlant ...

" design language of the late 1960s, towards the fashionable "origami" or "folded paper" school of design, typified in his square and angular designs for the Escort Mk II (1975), Mk IV Cortina/Taunus (1976), Granada Mk II (1978) and the Escort Mk III (1980). By the early 1980s, he had moved Ford's styling language forward again to the rounded "aero" look - most famously the

in 1982 and the Scorpio/Granada iii in 1985 - Bahnsen's final design for Ford. In 1986 Bahnsen left Ford to become training director at the

La Tour-de-Peilz La Tour-de-Peilz () is a municipality in Riviera-Pays-d'Enhaut District in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. The city is located on Lake Geneva between Montreux and Vevey (their agglomeration counting some 80,000 inhabitants). History In the ...

(Switzerland), which he ran between 1990 and 1995. In 1992 he was elected to the Executive Board of the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design (ICSID) and was its president from 1995 to 1997. Uwe Bahnsen was

Fellow A fellow is a concept whose exact meaning depends on context. In learned or professional societies, it refers to a privileged member who is specially elected in recognition of their work and achievements. Within the context of higher education ...

of the

Royal Society of Arts The Royal Society for the Encouragement of Arts, Manufactures and Commerce (RSA), also known as the Royal Society of Arts, is a London-based organisation committed to finding practical solutions to social challenges. The RSA acronym is used m ...

, a Fellow of the

Chartered Society of Designers The Chartered Society of Designers (CSD) is a professional body for designers. It is the only Royal Chartered body of experienced designers. Its membership is multi-disciplinary – representing designers in all design, disciplines including I ...

and International Member of the

Industrial Designers Society of America The Industrial Designers Society of America (IDSA) is a membership-based not-for-profit organization that promotes the practice and education of industrial design. The organization was formally established in 1965 by the collaborative merger of ...

(IDSA).

Personal life and death

Bahnsen and his wife Maureen retired to

Monflanquin Monflanquin (; Languedocien: ''Montflanquin'') is a commune in the Lot-et-Garonne department in south-western France. Built in 1256 as a military bastide town on a strategic north-south route, it changed hands several times during the Hundred Y ...

in the wine country, east of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

. During his final months, they lived in

Albi Albi (; oc, Albi ) is a commune in southern France. It is the prefecture of the Tarn department, on the river Tarn, 85 km northeast of Toulouse. Its inhabitants are called ''Albigensians'' (french: Albigeois, Albigeoise(s), oc, albig� ...

, near

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Par ...

. Bahnsen died on 30 July 2013, and he was cremated in

on 3 August 2013. He was survived by his wife, four children and numerous grandchildren.

Vehicles

Bahnsen either directly styled or directed the design of these vehicles: *

Ford Taunus The Ford Taunus is a family car that was sold by Ford Germany throughout Europe. Models from 1970 onward were built on the same basic construction as the Ford Cortina MkIII in the United Kingdom, and later on, the two car models were essentiall ...

17m "Bathtub" (1960), *

Ford Taunus TC The Ford Taunus TC is a range of large family cars that were built by Ford Germany from 1970 until 1982. The Taunus TC was based on the same basic construction as the Ford UK's Cortina range, with the "TC" badge standing for Taunus Cortina. Ta ...

/ Cortina III (1970), * Ford Granada I (1972) *

Ford Capri The Ford Capri is a fastback coupé built by Ford of Europe, designed by Philip T. Clark, who was also involved in the design of the Ford Mustang. It used the mechanical components from the Mk2 Ford Cortina and was intended as the Euro ...

II (1974), * Ford Escort II (1975), * Ford Taunus TC2 / Cortina IV (1976), *

Ford Fiesta The Ford Fiesta is a supermini car marketed by Ford since 1976 over seven generations. Over the years, the Fiesta has mainly been developed and manufactured by Ford's European operations, and has been positioned below the Escort (later the ...

I (1976) * Ford Granada II (1978) *

III, (II Facelift) (1978), * Ford Taunus TC3 / Cortina 80/'Mk5' (1979) * Ford Escort III (1980) *

(1982) *

I / Granada III (1985) *

Ford Transit The Ford Transit is a family of light commercial vehicles manufactured by the Ford Motor Company since 1965, primarily as a cargo van, but also available in other configurations including a large passenger van (marketed as the Ford Tourneo in ...

(1986)

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bahnsen, Uwe 1930 births 2013 deaths German automobile designers Ford designers Window dressers University of Fine Arts of Hamburg alumni