Chief Designer Franz von Holzhausen on the Innovative Package of the Model S

摘要

It was on March 26, 2009 that the Model S 4-door-sedan concept prototype made its world debut in Los Angeles at an aerospace company facility called Space X. This is a very progressive model including such technical innovations as a 5+2 seat layout and a digital instrument panel consisting of a 17" touch screen with updatable firmware. It can be considered as "the iPhone of the Automobile", reflecting progressive high-tech elements of the culture of Silicon Valley. The Tesla S's design was developed under the supervision of Franz von Holzhausen. Holzhausen was 40 at the time and had just transferred to Tesla Motors from Mazda's MRA studio. Below he describes the background behind the development of the model S.