[ad_1]
Australian connection : The Ford designer Chris Svensson was born in England but spent almost three years in Australia where he encouraged a younger generation of designers with projects such as Mad Max Interceptor concepts
53, died Saturday after a battle with cancer in Detroit where he was director of Ford's global design for SUVs, trucks and commercial vehicles until, too sick to continue, he retired July 1st. By the way, saying in a statement: "We are sad to learn of the pbading of Ford Design Director, Chris Svensson.Chris was a talented designer, an inspiring leader, and a friend to many.
" He has made countless contributions to Ford over his 26 year career and we will miss him tremendously. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family. "
Best known for painting the 1996 Ford K when he graduated from college and oversaw the Ford GT 2017 project with Australian designer Todd Willing, Mr. Svensson put his stamp on automotive design. Australia when he was appointed design director Ford Asia Pacific and Africa in June 2010.
It was during his three years in Australia that Ford rebuilt the Ford Australia Design Center in Melbourne, transforming a dated installation built in the late 1960s in an ultramodern studio with modern technologies like a virtual reality center to visualize designs – one of the three in the Ford world – and high-tech communications for that Local designers can communicate and share their designs in real time with their colleagues
Mr. Svensson helped to enthuse a new generation of young Australian designers by encouraging them t to give free rein to their imagination on vehicles like a pair of Mad Max Interceptor conce pts in 2011.
The Next Generation team led by Mr. Willing – who is now Ford Asia Pacific design director – worked after hours on the designs for the concepts inspired by the popular Mad Max movies. They were developed in 40 percent clay models, complete with realistic graphics.
A career Ford designer whose grandfather was Swedish, Mr. Svensson was born in Sunderland, in northern England and studied automotive design at the University of Coventry. After joining Ford in 1992, he worked at the European Design Center in Cologne, Germany, where he worked on the first generation Focus and Mondeo. The exterior design of Ka, Puma and Cougar made it famous
. During a one-year badignment in Detroit at Ford's Advanced Design Studio in 1996-7, Mr. Svensson worked on two concepts: the Mercury MC2 and Ford. P200 Hydrogen Car – while also helping to test new high-tech tools such as holographic displays and the latest computer-aided design systems.
In 1997, he returned to the UK, to Ford's Dunton design studio, where he saw the development of the Ford Fiesta and Fusion.
From there, he held various executive positions, including his position as Director of Asia-Pacific and Africa Design from 2010 to 2013, replacing Scott Strong
. He was appointed Director of North American Outdoor Design in 2013 and then Director of Design for the Americas in 2014. It is in this latter role that he oversaw the second-generation Ford GT design project, always in collaboration with Mr. Willing who is responsible for the
A concept for the GT supercar was shown at the 2015 Detroit show, with production starting in December 2016.
In July of last year Mr. Svensson has moved to his last role as global director of SUVs, trucks and commercial vehicles – a task that would have included the ultimate responsibility for the next generation of Ford Ranger and Everest now carried out by his colleagues in Australia.
million. Svensson is Ved by his wife Sonia and twin girls Hannah and Ella.
By Ron Hammerton
Source link
