Born : December 28 1946
Biography Harm Lagaaij
Harm Lagaaij, was born December 28th 1946 in The Hague. In 1965, After his studies at the Dutch Institute for Automotive Trade (IVA – Instituut voor Automobielhandel), the professional career of Harm Lagaaij starts at Olyslager in Soest (Netherlands). Olyslager was a publisher, known for the technical manuals for cars. Harm Lagaaij was responsible for the technical illustrations and documentation. Only a year later, Harm Lagaaij moved to Simca, where he was responsible again for the technical documentation. After that, Harm Lagaaij moves to Porsche, where he starts in 197 in the design studio. The best known designs of Harm Lagaaij during the first years at Porsche are the transaxle Porsche 924, and ofcourse the flagship of Zuffenhausen, the Porsche 911
1977 Harm Lagaaij moves to Ford where he helps designing the Ford Escort, Ford Sierra and Ford Scorpio. His next career move is in 1985 when he trades Ford for BMW where he takes the position as Chief-designer. During his BMW period, Harm Lagaaij designs the BMW Z1.
In 1989 Harm Lagaaij returns to Zuffenhausen, and becomes the Chief Designer at Porsche, where he leads the design studio in Weissach till his retirement in 2004. Products of him in this period are the Porsche Cayenne, the Porsche Boxster that was introduced in 1996, and the Porsche 996 series. He was also responsible for the design of the super sportscar Porsche Carrera GT and was awarded with many international awards for that achievement.
November 14 2013, almost 10 years after his retirement, Harm Lagaaij is awarded with a royal award in the Netherlands for his achievements in the automotive design, and as a tribute to his worldwide recognition as a designer.
Harm Lagaaij’s Career
1965 – 1967 – Instituut voor Automobielhandel (IVA), Driebergen
1967 – 1968 – Oyslager, Soest
1968 – 1969 – Simca Netherlands
1970 – 1977 – Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG / Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen
1977 – 1985 – Ford AG / Köln-Merkenich
1985 – 1988 – BMW Technik GmbH / München
1989 – 2004 – Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG / Stuttgart-Zuffenhausen
Chef Designer Design Studio “Style Porsche”
