Franz von Holzhausen is an automobile

Automobile

An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...

 designer, currently in charge of design at Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors

Tesla Motors, Inc. is a Silicon Valley-based company that designs, manufactures and sells electric cars and electric vehicle powertrain components. It was the only automaker building and selling a zero-emission sports car, the Tesla Roadster, in serial production...

 after resigning his position at Mazda North American Operations

Mazda North American Operations

Mazda North American Operations is Mazda Motor Corporation's North American arm, and constitutes the largest component of that company outside Japan. The company has its headquarters in Irvine, California and is headed by James J...

 on July 31, 2008.

He designed the Tesla Model S

Tesla Model S

The Tesla Model S is a full-sized battery electric sedan developed by Tesla Motors. It is an electric car that was initially codenamed WhiteStar during research and preliminary development. Model S was announced in a press release on June 30, 2008...

, an electric premium sedan.

After taking his role at Mazda

Mazda

is a Japanese automotive manufacturer based in Fuchū, Aki District, Hiroshima Prefecture, Japan.In 2007, Mazda produced almost 1.3 million vehicles for global sales...

 on February 21, 2005, von Holzhausen designed the Mazda Kabura

Mazda Kabura

The Mazda Kabura is a concept car shown by the Japanese manufacturer Mazda in 2006.-Concept overview:The Kabura, introduced at the 2006 North American International Auto Show, is a sport compact which shows styling themes and technologies which could appear in future production models...

 concept car which debuted at the 2006 North American International Auto Show

North American International Auto Show

The North American International Auto Show is an annual auto show held in Detroit, Michigan at Cobo Center, usually in January. It is among the largest auto shows in North America.-History:...

 and is tipped for production, possibly as a "MX-4". Prior to this, von Holzhausen designed the successful Pontiac Solstice

Pontiac Solstice

The Pontiac Solstice is a small sports car from the Pontiac division of General Motors. Introduced at the 2004 North American International Auto Show, the Solstice roadster began production in Wilmington, Delaware, starting in mid-2005 for the 2006 model year. The exterior styling of the...

 and Saturn Sky

Saturn Sky

The Saturn Sky was the only roadster from the Saturn marque of American automaker General Motors, and was initially released in the first quarter of 2006 as a 2007 model. It uses the Kappa automobile platform shared with the Pontiac Solstice and Opel GT...

 while working at General Motors. He was also an assistant design chief at Volkswagen

Volkswagen

Volkswagen is a German automobile manufacturer and is the original and biggest-selling marque of the Volkswagen Group, which now also owns the Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, SEAT, and Škoda marques and the truck manufacturer Scania.Volkswagen means "people's car" in German, where it is...

. Earlier in Franz's career at Volkswagen, he had an instrumental involvement in the New Beetle concept project, known as "Concept One," under design lead J Mays

J Mays

J Mays, born in Pauls Valley, Oklahoma, U.S., is Group Vice President of Global Design and Chief Creative Officer at Ford Motor Company. His name is simply "J", named after his grandfather, S J Mays.-Background:...

(Holzhausen saw the New Beetle concept through to production in Germany).

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