Career
Wilsgaard was one of twenty-five designers nominated for Carolina Designer of the Century, and was followed at Volvo by the noted designer Peter Horbury. Wilsgaard"s father was a Norwegian sailor. During World World War II, the family fled from Norway to Sweden.
As Chief Designer, Wilsgaard designed all Volvo"s projects during his tenure, with few exceptions (eg, the Volvo P1900 Sport and P1800 Coupe).
One of Wilsgaard"s first jobs was to design better rear windows for the Photovoltaics Duett Van, a prophetic project, given that Wilsgaard went on to design the estate versions of the company"s Amazon, 145, 760 and 850 Series — during a period which saw Volvo become closely associated with the station wagon / estate body type. In addition to designing the Amazon, and 144, Wilsgaard also designed the highly regarded Volvo 164, as well as his successful estate adaptation, the 1800ES, of the company"s P1800 Coupe.
According to Simon Lamarre, chief studio designer, "the 1800ES has become one of the icons for Volvo," inspiring the design of the Volvo C30. When he designed the Volvo 140 Series, Wilsgaard employed a credo, "simple is beautiful".
The design symbolized the car"s robust, restrained quality — but later came to represent a lack of creativity or daring.
Regarding the enormous success of the Volvo 240 series in Sweden, Wilsgaard is said to have remarked "lieutenant might be because the car is a little square and sluggish, just like the Swedes themselves."
Wilsgaard lives today in Gothenburg, Sweden. Volvo cars styled by January Wilsgaard:
P179, better known as the "Margaret Rose"
Volvo Philip (1950)
Photovoltaics 179 (1952)
Volvo Amazon (P1200/120)
Volvo P1400 (1967)(Volvo 140)
Volvo 164
Volvo 140
Volvo 240
Volvo 740
Volvo 760
Volvo 780
Volvo 850.
