Albrecht von Goertz

Albrecht Graf von Schlitz Gen. Görtz and Wrisberg ( born January 12, 1914 on the manor Brunkensen / Alfeld (Leine ), † 27 October 2006 Kitzbühel) was a German designer.

Life

Goertz was the second of three children of Count Johann Rudolf von Schlitz, called by Goertz (1884-1933) and his wife Elsa Meyer ( born March 4, 1882 to 1968 ). His mother was deported to the Theresienstadt ghetto in 1944. His older brother Eberhard died in 1951 at the age of 40 years.

After the end of his school career he began in Hamburg at the Deutsche Bank 1933 a doctrine, but moved to London in 1935 at the private bank Helbert Wagg & Company. In 1936 he went to the USA and arranged his life finally in Los Angeles, where he mounted aircraft engines, cars washed, and thereby finally acted his design talent to the then-new Hot Rods. He created his first car, called Paragon, and was given the opportunity to exhibit this vehicle on the 1939 World's Fair in San Francisco.

Instead order to achieve a breakthrough, he was drafted into the army in 1940. During this time he married his first wife Luli von Bodenhausen (1902-1951), of which he was, however, in 1942 divorced. After the war he went to New York where he met Raymond Loewy. Loewy presented Goertz for a Studebaker. 1953, Goertz made ​​independently came up with BMW in contact and received the orders, the BMW 503 and BMW to develop 507 which were presented in 1955 at the IAA. In 1957 he married the 1925 -born Susanne Nettel, with whom he has the 1959 -born son of Peter Joseph.

From 1962 to 1965 he worked for the Japanese manufacturer Nissan, among others, to the first Silvia series. In the further course of his career he also designed other objects, his last work was a grand piano for Steinway & Sons.

In 1996 he was awarded an honorary membership of the German Designer Club.