Volkswagen Group Names New Design Chief; Rolls-Royce Designer Tapped for VW Brand
A longtime design presence in the Volkswagen family will take on a new title in the new year. The automaker has announced that Klaus Bischoff (seen above, to the left of North American CEO Scott Keogh), currently head of design for the Volkswagen brand, will oversee design work for the entire VW Group range.
Replacing him in his current role will be Jozef Kaban, a man whose last position involved designing some of the most expensive cars on earth. Not that he hasn’t already done that at VW, though.
Kaban, 46, got his start at VW Group at the end of the last century, sculpting the body of the wild Bugatti Veyron. He moved on to new pastures in the years following, serving with Audi and Skoda. Kaban left Rolls-Royce in October after a six-month stint; before that, he served as head of BMW’s design studio.
Bischoff joined VW in 1989 and stayed put, becoming head of design for the Volkswagen brand in 2007. His first day in his new position will be April 1, 2020, when he’ll replace Michael Mauer, who’s overseen the group’s design work since 2015. Mauer’s next role will see him guiding the design of future Porsches — a task he performed concurrently with his Group design responsibilities.
As for Kaban, he sets up shop at the automaker on July 1st, with Bischoff overseeing things until his arrival.
[Image: Volkswagen Group]
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From designing Rolls Royce to doing Volkswagens? Lo, how the mighty have fallen. Wonder who he pissed off to be exiled to designing VW’s? Anyhow, this isn’t “new news”; some of his of his preliminary designs have already been leaked: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/447686019200195473/
Does he own an old Beetle with one of those faux Rolls Royce front ends?
'I have devoted my life to the design of beautiful automobiles, and this particular one is unquestionably my best work ever. Now... let me just stand in front of it for the taking of the pictures. Ah yes. See how the character line transitions to... oh, I suppose my hips are a little bit in the way there.' [Someone's 'login' tip this week really works - do the first login - which appears to "fail" - then reselect the page from the 'back' dropdown - and poof you are in.]