This man designed the most iconic Fords

“I always wanted to make a car where I could sit in the back with my legs crossed.” The man who spoke these words was 1.87 meters tall and put his dream into practice. The result was the Ford Scorpio, designed in short by Uwe Bahnsen (1930-2013).

Later, Bahnsen looked more sober

In his designs, Ford’s then chief designer also attached importance to the then very important aerodynamic aspects. But not only that: “The euphoria surrounding the Cd value gave way to a somewhat more down-to-earth view of things. Instead of looking purely at the controversial top values ​​in this area, we preferred what was best for the customer, namely functionality and practicality.”

Scorpio not the first strikingly lined Ford

Bahnsen is known for his revolutionary designs, and the Scorpio was not his first striking Ford model. The model was intended to replace the conservative angular Granada. The Scorpio’s cargo area was accessed through a huge, stylistically bold liftback tailgate. However, Bahnsen and the marketing team had taken too many risks: the “aero rear” did not appeal to customers shopping in the E segment when the model appeared in 1985, and potential buyers missed out on a sedan and station wagon. This cost market share, especially in Ford’s stronghold of Great Britain. It wasn’t until late 1989 that Ford introduced the Scorpio sedan, followed by the station wagon in 1992.

Uwe Bahnsen born in Hamburg

Uwe Bahnsen was born in Hamburg in 1930, his father died when he was still a child. As a 13-year-old, he witnessed bombing raids on the city – which would be the reason for his calm and reserved demeanor, as his second wife Maureen explains. “Uwe actually had no childhood,” she says. “He had to clean up corpses from the streets after the bombings in the summer of 1943. That marked him for the rest of his life.”

After high school, Bahnsen, who already excelled in painting and drawing as a child, started an apprenticeship as a shop window decorator. He then studies at the University of Fine Arts in Hamburg. At the same time, he earns money from one of his hobbies, photography.

At the age of 22 he meets racing driver Graf Wolfgang Berghe von Trips. They become friends and share a passion for motorsport. Bahnsen often spends his weekends on circuits, and later even participates in races as an amateur. He now supports himself by working for companies in the advertising industry. Maureen Bahnsen recalls from her husband’s stories: “Right after graduating, he met someone who asked him if he wanted to design chairs. That’s what he did then.”

Bahnsen starts at Ford in 1958

This lays the foundation for his career as a designer. This includes a plastic widening kit designed by him for racing cars, which attracts Ford’s attention. In 1958 Bahnsen starts working for the Cologne-based German branch of the car manufacturer; he soon sets the first milestones with his characteristic design language. Round shapes appeal to him, which becomes clear in 1960 when the first car to which he made a significant contribution is presented to the world. Unlike its predecessor, the Taunus P3 does not have chrome and tail fins, it is simple and round – so round that it is popularly called the ‘bathtub’. Ford presents the shape as ‘the sensible interplay of lines’ and 67,000 customers buy one.

In 1961 his friend Von Trips died in an accident during the Formula 1 Grand Prix of Italy in Monza. “That made Uwe very sad, he often talked about him,” Maureen recalls. The following year, Uwe Bahnsen goes to the US to work for Ford USA in Dearborn as a design manager. In this position he is responsible for the interiors of the Lincoln and Mercury subsidiary brands. In 1967 Ford Deutschland merges with Ford of Britain to form Ford Europe; the head office is in Cologne. In the same year, Bahnsen, meanwhile appointed Design Executive, moves to Dunton in Great Britain, where they promote him to Head of Interior Design. He speaks good English and is so fond of the British way of life that he adopts it literally. He enjoys his time in the country to the fullest.

Bahnsen figurehead Ford

Meanwhile, Bahnsen has become a figurehead for Ford: a handsome, successful man with bushy sideburns, always perfectly dressed and with a pipe or cigarette in hand. He manages to pass on his good taste to the designers. Again and again he gets them to push the limits that Ford has set. In the model range, it ensures a coherent design language – an advantage that the competition is still somewhat lacking. His designs are never boring, Bahnsen is as much appreciated for his stylistic consistency as for the care with which he realizes the designs.

Together with Bob Lutz

In 1970 he returns to Cologne as chief designer and in the following years, especially from 1974, he brings the company to fruition together with Ford’s new European director, Bob Lutz. It is clearly visible on the road thanks to successful models such as the Escort generation launched in 1975, the Taunus TC II facelift of 1976, the Granada II and the legendary Capri II. The important Escort III is launched in 1980; six years of development work preceded it. Bahnsen’s words reflect his own structured and meticulous approach: “Themes such as extreme efficiency, body construction, body construction and impressive engineering were the parameters for the new Escort. In terms of design, we wanted to create a car that not only reflected the image of the new generation, but also one that was as efficient in design as it was in technical specifications: in other words, a fully integrated unit.”

Bahnsen, now Vice President of Design at Ford of Europe, is well aware that his designs are not to everyone’s taste. Take the Escort. “It’s a very, very usable, modern car. Some people may have to get used to it, but because there is a good reason to do it that way (aerodynamics, ed.), it is a car that convinces with its qualities.”

Bahnsen is also decisive in his private life. In the early 1980s he meets his later wife Maureen Bahnsen at a job interview; it is intended that she will become his new assistant. “I immediately thought, that will be my husband. That calm and deep voice made me fall in love right away,” she says of that first meeting. But Uwe Bahsen is still married at that time. “You have to decide for yourself,” she tells him. And he does. He chooses Maureen.

Square becomes round

Bahnsen is known as a gentleman. He works in a disciplined and professional manner, but also demands the same from his team. Patrick le Quément, former chief designer at Ford (later at Volkswagen and Renault) and a friend of his, recalls: “We were both so fed up that when a designer sat down at a meeting there were almost always comments like ‘Ah, the artist is finally there too.’”

Bahnsen turns things upside down at Ford: everything that used to be square is now round. This leads to the Sierra Shock in October 1982 – as the British car magazine ‘Car’ headlined. Ford boss Lutz wants a more dynamic, high-tech image. He finds the old models such as the Taunus old-fashioned. Until then, customers have been accustomed to cars with angular grilles, prominent headlights and an almost vertical front. The successor to the Taunus, the Sierra, looks slippery in comparison – and is not equally successful in every respect. Depending on the version, the grille is replaced by a few slots or a simple, closed front panel. The headlights are purposefully integrated into the front and look like glass blocks. And then there’s the liftback shape with a large tailgate: even in Ford’s design department, some are waging trench warfare against the unusual appearance.

Sierra as Project Toni

Nevertheless, Bahnsen gets his way, partly because boss Robert Lutz supports him. The project is known internally as ‘Project Toni’, after the Spanish word for ‘ridge’. When he proudly drives the car to his future wife Maureen, her enthusiasm is not contained. “It didn’t really look like a car,” she says. “Moreover, he probably only thought of male drivers when he designed it. I got in the car and said there was no room for a handbag. He just laughed.”

Sierra a success, Bahnsen died ten years ago

Nevertheless, the Sierra is a success; a total of 2.7 million are ‘over the counter’ worldwide. Four years after the Sierra was launched, the art-loving designer is leaving Ford, which he served for 28 years. He will work at the Art Center College of Design in Vevey, Switzerland. First he was director of the training, from 1990 to 1995 he led the institute. “I enjoy working with young adults,” says Bahnsen enthusiastically. In the following two years he chaired the International Council of Societies of Industrial Design. Uwe Bahnsen, the designer who was not only successful but also popular, died on July 30, 2013 at the age of 83 in a hospital in Albi, southern France. Even in his last years he did not lose sight of the development of car design – even if he was not really impressed by it. “They have no character, they all look the same.”