Gert Volker Hildebrand in portrait

M ini design chief Gert Volker Hildebrand has been part of the for many years established German designer scene. Born in 1953 in Lörrach near the Swiss border, he first completed a degree in mechanical engineering at the TH Karlsruhe, before studying industrial design in Braunschweig between 1975 and 1979 and car design at the renowned Royal College of Art in London in 1980.

Gert Volker Hildebrand shapes car design at Mini

His professional career began in 1980 at Adam Opel AG in Rüsselsheim, where he designed the Opel Junior. In 1986 Hildebrand switched to VW, where he determined the lines of the VW Golf III, which represented a very important generation change from its predecessor. After a stint at 3M in Neuss (1989 to 1994), he returned to VW as deputy head of exterior design and was responsible for the facelift of the Sharan. From 1998 to 2000, Gert Volker Hildebrand was head of design at Mitsubishi in Germany before he switched to Mini in the same position. He also contributed to the fact that a whole family has now emerged with a convertible and Clubman, which will be followed by the first four-door Mini called the Countryman, a roadster and a coupé. Gert Volker Hildebrand has also made a name for himself in the scene with many unusual studies, most recently the Beachcomber Concept, because he experimented with unusual interior ideas and unusual door concepts. Hildebrand has patented many of these own ideas.