Bugatti Veyron.
Caban managed to pack a 100-year-old design tradition into a modern supercar (photo: manufacturer's website)
Many children spend hours in schools drawing cars in their notebooks and thinking about the design of their next generation.
Few of them go on to study at the few automotive design schools, and even fewer manage to work for the major car manufacturers and design real cars.
It's even rarer that they manage to pull off a design that becomes iconic.
This happened to Joseph Kaban twice.
Kaban (50) was a relatively unknown designer when he received the brief for the Volkswagen Group's excessive supercar, with 1,001 hp and a top speed of 400 km/h, which was intended to continue the tradition of a magnificent manufacturer, whose spectacular designs were one of the things that left his mind long after he passed away. Foot.
His Bugatti Byron was an engineering marvel, but also a design marvel.
Skoda Kodiaq.
Caban's less iconic design (photo: Kobi Liani)
Kaban took off with the Veyron for a long career at the Volkswagen Group, worked at Audi, served as the head of Skoda's design department, and after three years of exile at BMW, during which he served as the chief designer of the German manufacturer and its Rolls-Royce division, returned to Volkswagen in 2020 as chief designer.
The Slovakian designer signs, among other things, the Volkswagen Lupo and Seat Arosa that were not sold in Israel, the third generation of the Skoda Octavia and Superb and the first of the Kodiak (yes, it turns out they had a designer), and the new retro icon ID.buzz together with Klaus Zikoria.
More in Walla!
Strategic location, spectacular view and luxurious apartments: the intriguing neighborhood being built in the center
In collaboration with Aora Real Estate
Volkswagen ID.life.
The boss didn't like it (photo: manufacturer's website)
This month Caban celebrated his birthday, but the new boss of Volkswagen did not send him a greeting card, but informed him of his removal from the position.
Thomas Schaeffer, the new CEO of the Volkswagen Group, did not like two of his latest designs for new models of the company. The first is the ID.life consumer vehicle from 2021, which is designed to introduce the popular electric Jeep that the company will start producing in 2025. The
second , which has not been disclosed to the public, was for Project Trinity, which is supposed to create Volkswagen's next flagship car. According to publications in Germany, Caban presented the management with a sedan, but Schafer demanded a crossover vehicle.
Because of his position and history in the group, Volkswagen's board of directors decided that Caban would be removed from his position but not fired from the company, and will take on a yet-to-be-determined new role.He will be replaced by Andreas Mindt, Bentley's chief designer.
vehicle
car news
Tags
Volkswagen
Car design