Dirk van Braeckel
| Dirk van Braeckel | |
|---|---|
| Born | 19 February 1958 |
| Nationality | Belgian |
| Education | Royal College of Art |
| Occupation | Car designer |
| Employer | Audi |
Dirk van Braeckel (born 19 February 1958 in Deinze),[1] is a Belgian car designer. He is known for the designing of various models for Volkswagen Group.
Career
Born in Deinze,[1] after leaving school, van Braeckel studied electrical engineering,[2] before joining Ford as an apprentice car designer in Cologne, West Germany.[1] Ford then agreed to sponsor him undertake a degree in car design at the Royal College of Art, London.[3]
On graduation, he joined Audi in 1984, working on external design[1] including the Audi A8 concept and Audi A3.[4] In 1993, Volkswagen Group boss Ferdinand Piëch personally choose him to head design for VW's newly purchased Škoda Auto division, where he revised the entire model line-up,[3] creating the Octavia and Fabia models.[1]
After Volkswagen purchased Bentley in 1998 from Vickers plc, van Braeckel joined the British-based company in August 1999 as Director of Design & Styling. His brief was to create a second-car line that could sell in higher volumes than the $240,000 Bentley Arnage car. Van Braeckel created the Bentley Continental GT, which in 2004 sold 5,983 units, exceeding forecasts by 62%,[3] and in 2009 his Bentley Mulsanne was launched.[5]
Cars
- Audi A8 concept, 1994
- Audi A3, 1996
- Škoda Octavia, 1996
- Škoda Fabia, 1999
- Škoda Superb, 2001
- Škoda Octavia, 2004
- Bentley Continental GT, 2004
- Bentley Continental Flying Spur,[6] 2005
- Bentley Azure, 2006
- Bentley Brooklands,[7] 2007
- Bentley Mulsanne, 2009
- Bentley EXP 9 F, 2012[8]
Awards
In 2007, van Braeckel was awarded the laureate of Antwerp's Christophe Plantin Prize, which honours Belgian citizens whose cultural, artistic or scientific activities contribute to the country's prestige abroad.[2] In 2008, van Braeckel was awarded the European Automotive Design Award by Designers (Europe).[1]
References
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Bentley design director Dirk van Braeckel awarded". carbodydesign.com. 2008-02-06. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
- 1 2 "Dirk van Braeckel receives top Belgian award". conceptcar.co.uk. 2007-10-09. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
- 1 2 3 "Dirk van Braeckel". Business Week. 2005-05-30. Retrieved 2009-06-21.
- ↑ "World of Bentley". World of Bentley. Bentley. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- ↑ Condon, Josh. "Bentley Mulsanne: The famed British saloon builder replaces the Arnage with an all-new stunner.". MSN Autos. Retrieved 4 December 2011.
- ↑ Damian, Alex (31 May 2006). "Bentley Continental Flying Spur". Top Speed. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- ↑ GRITZINGER, Bob (6 March 2007). "2008 Bentley Brooklands Coupe Big two-door captures company's racing heritage". Automotive News. Retrieved 5 December 2011.
- ↑ Fowler, Steve. "Bentley SUV to get new look". Auto Express. Retrieved 7 June 2012.