Designers

Paul Bracq

French designer who worked at both Mercedes-Benz and BMW. At Mercedes, he created the Pagoda SL and 600 limousine. At BMW, he established the design language for the E23 7 Series and E24 6 Series that defined the brand through the 1980s.

1960s1970s

Pininfarina

The design house that shaped Ferrari's identity for over six decades. From the 250 GTO to the Testarossa to the Enzo, Pininfarina's partnership with Ferrari produced the most iconic sports cars in history. The firm also designed for Alfa Romeo, Peugeot, and Maserati.

1970s1990s2000s

Walter de Silva

Head of design at Audi and later the entire Volkswagen Group. De Silva's work on the A5 and A7 brought a sculptural quality to Audi's design that complemented Schreyer's earlier geometric purity.

Marcello Gandini

The most influential automotive designer of the 20th century. At Bertone, Gandini created the Lamborghini Miura, Countach, and Diablo, the Lancia Stratos, and the BMW 5 Series (E12). His wedge-shaped Countach defined the supercar silhouette for fifty years.

1960s1970s1990s

Martin Smith

British designer who shaped Audi's identity during the 1980s, including the Audi 100 (C3) with its groundbreaking 0.30 Cd drag coefficient that set aerodynamic records for a production sedan.

1980s

Bruno Sacco

Head of Mercedes-Benz design from 1975 to 1999. Sacco's philosophy of 'vertical affinity' gave every Mercedes a family resemblance while allowing each model its own character. The W124 E-Class, R129 SL, and W140 S-Class are his masterworks.

Peter Schreyer

Translated Freeman Thomas's Audi TT concept into production reality with almost no changes, a decision that transformed Audi's design language. Later became head of design at Kia, where he executed a similar brand transformation.

Christopher Weil

BMW

Malcolm Sayer

Jaguar

1950s1960s

Pininfarina (Leonardo Fioravanti)

As Pininfarina's chief designer, Fioravanti drew the Ferrari Daytona, 365 BB, 288 GTO, and Testarossa. His side-strake design on the Testarossa became the most recognizable automotive detail of the 1980s.

1960s1980s

Harm Lagaay

Designed the BMW Z1 with its revolutionary drop-down doors and removable body panels. Later became head of design at Porsche, where he oversaw the 996 and Boxster programs that saved the company from bankruptcy.

Joji Nagashima

BMW

1990s

Stefan Sielaff

Audi

Pierre Leclercq

BMW

Dany Garand

Audi

2010s

Erwin Komenda / Ferry Porsche

Porsche

1940s

Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera

The Milanese coachbuilder pioneered the Superleggera (super-light) construction method of aluminum panels over a tubular steel frame. Their Aston Martin DB5 became the most famous car in cinema history.

1960s1970s

Porsche Design

Porsche

1970s1980s

Claus Luthe

BMW

1980s

Ercole Spada

BMW

1980s

BMW M GmbH

BMW's motorsport and performance division, responsible for the M3, M5, and M series. Rather than a single designer, M cars are the product of a collective engineering and design philosophy: racing technology adapted for the road.

Klaus Kapitza

BMW

Hartmut Warkuss

Audi

1990s

Dirk van Braeckel

Audi, Bentley

Luc Donckerwolke

Audi, Lamborghini

Frank Stephenson

BMW

Henrik Fisker

Danish designer who created the BMW Z8 at Designworks California and the Aston Martin DB9 and V8 Vantage at Aston Martin. The Z8 remains his defining work, a car that proved nostalgia and engineering could coexist. Later founded Fisker Automotive.

Adrian van Hooydonk

BMW

Frank Lamberty

Audi

Nicolas Huet

BMW

2010s

Benoit Jacob

Led BMW's i Division design, creating the i3 city car and the i8 hybrid supercar. The i8's flowing lines and scissor doors showed that electrified performance cars could be as visually dramatic as their combustion predecessors.

2010s

Ferdinand Porsche

Mercedes-Benz

1920s

Flaminio Bertoni

Citroën

1930s

Ferdinand Porsche / Erwin Komenda

Volkswagen

1930s

William Lyons

Jaguar

1940s

Maurice Wilks

Land Rover

1940s

Ernst Fuhrmann

Porsche

Franco Scaglione / Bertone

Alfa Romeo

Friedrich Geiger

Mercedes-Benz

Flaminio Bertoni / Andre Lefebvre

Citroën

Dante Giacosa

Fiat

Pelle Petterson / Frua

Volvo

Jean Redele / Philippe-Charles Redele

Alpine

Ron Hickman

Lotus

Giotto Bizzarrini / Sergio Scaglietti

Ferrari

Sir Alec Issigonis

MINI

Paul Bracq / Friedrich Geiger (Mercedes-Benz)

Mercedes-Benz

Ferdinand Alexander (Butzi) Porsche

Porsche

Giorgetto Giugiaro (Bertone)

Iso

Tom Tjaarda (Pininfarina)

Fiat

Franco Scaglione

Designed the Alfa Romeo 33 Stradale, widely considered the most beautiful car ever made. Working at Bertone and independently, Scaglione's aerodynamic intuition produced shapes that were decades ahead of computational fluid dynamics.