Belgian designer Luc Donckerwolke is returning to South Korean Hyundai. He resigned as the group’s chief designer, which includes Kia and Genesis in addition to the Hyundai brand, only in March of this year. So now the person who drew the first Škoda Octavia and Fabia is back, but in a slightly different position.
According to Hyundai, Donckerwolke has become the creative director of Hyundai Motor Group (ie the entire South Korean concern). This is a newly created position at the level of executive vice president, Luc Donckerwolke will have an office in Rüsselsheim, where the European part of Hyundai is headquartered.
This is not the only position that the Belgian designer will hold in the South Korean concern. In addition, it will also be responsible for communication in the field of design of all Hyundai brands. In addition to the parent manufacturer and Kie, this means the luxury offshoot of Genesis, the upcoming Ioniq brand for electric cars, as well as the hydrogen cars that Hyundai is currently working on. The press release emphasizes the last three.
Donckerwolke did not resign from the previous position of head of design of the entire Hyundai concern until March this year, according to a press release from the Korean manufacturer, in order to resolve his health. Let us also remind you that a 55-year-old Belgian joined the Korean carmaker in 2016 – first he was the chief designer together with Peter Schreyer, since 2017 he has held this position independently. It was Donckerwolke who imprinted the face on the current generation of Genesis cars and also influenced the appearance of current Hyundai models (such as the Kona) and partly the Kia.
However, he made a name for himself in the world of automotive design much earlier. He studied industrial engineering in Brussels and vehicle design in Vevey, Switzerland. He then started his career in 1990 at Peugeot, where he spent two years. However, he became famous mainly for his work for the Volkswagen Group, where he joined in 1992 and worked for Audi for two years.
In 1994, however, he moved to Mladá Boleslav, where he wrote in indelible letters. He participated in the design of the first modern generation of the Škoda Octavia first and then also the first Škoda Fabia. Both models became a sales hit not only on the Czech market, but also in Europe – after all, the first generation Octavia from 1996 did not end until 2010, six years after the premiere of the successor. The first Fabia, which premiered in 1999, is still considered one of the standards for the small vehicle segment.
After two years in Boleslav, Donckerwolke returned to Audi, at which time he designed a revolutionary, but unsuccessfully unsuccessful, small A2 hatchback. Another shift in his career came in 1998, when he became Lamborghini as chief designer. Essential products of his work? Especially the Murciélago and Gallardo models, he also took part in the very positively received Miura retroconcept from 2006.
At Lamborghini, Luc Donckerwolke graduated in 2005 to move to Seata as chief designer. From this position, he designed not only the fourth generation of small Ibiza, but also the concepts of Tribe or IBE, which influenced the appearance of future Seats such as Leon or Ateca. In September 2012, the Belgian designer moved for the last time within the German concern. This time to Bentley, again as the main designer, he designed, for example, the second generation of the Flying Spur limousine. In 2016, the aforementioned transfer to the Hyundai Group followed.
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