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Design from

Germany

IVM AUTOMOTIVE DESIGN CENTER “Made in Germany” stands for precision and reliability, for mechanical engineering and metal machining, but not for innovative automotive design studios. Terry Wolkind and his team at the IVM Automotive Design Center are out to change that.

VITA

Terry Wolkind (55)

The mobile Briton has always been one to look beyond his own island and his own nose. After studying to become a body design engineer in England, he worked, among others, as a designer at Ford and GM in the USA; for an independent design studio in England; and at Por- sche, BMW and Opel in Germa- ny. He has been head of the Design Center at IVM Automotive in Rüsselsheim since 1998.

Terry Wolkind doesn’t rely on luck in his

work. “A vehicle has about ten seconds to convince a potential buyer. So nothing must be left to

chance,” the head of the IVM Automo-

tive Design Center believes. “On the contra- ry: design quality is based on a coherent con- cept, and that’s the result of hard work by a team of professionals.” A good designer, Wol- kind is convinced, must always strike the right balance between aesthetics and functionality in cars and their components – and, of course, their profitability for the manufacturer. It’s a challenge that still appeals to the 55-year-old Briton’s sense of adventure even after almost 40 years in the motor vehicle business. Not only new technologies, but also the zeitgeist always provide him fresh stimuli: “The retro look, for example, would hardly have met with demand in the market a few years ago. But now some manufacturers are enjoying great success with it. That shows they’re on the right track.”

Wolkind and his team also have demonstrated their good nose in the past six years. Only set up as a separate unit in Rüsselsheim in 1998, IVM Automotive was soon involved in the development of the design concept of the Opel Speedster – a concept that was very important for the brand. In close cooperation

with Opel, IVM Automotive built first design models that led to show cars presented at the Geneva, Frankfurt and Detroit motor shows.

Under Wolkind, designs for a number of concept studies on behalf of other OEM also have been produced; numerous pictures testifying to this activity adorn the walls of the studio.

FROM SKETCH TO SHOW CAR

The Design Center skills have been steadily enhanced by Wolkind since 1998: “Today, we offer our customers the entire design portfolio

–from first concept sketches to drivable show cars.” He has done particularly well with the

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