‘Masters of Modern Car Design’ is a book that features the design directors of the biggest nine automotive groups.

Walter de’ Silva from the VW Group, Ed Welburn from GM, Lorenzo Ramaciotti from the Fiat Group, J Mays from Ford, Peter Schreyer from Kia, Jean-Pierre Ploué from PSA, Adrian Van Hooydonk from the BMW Group, Laurens van den Acker from Renault and Gorden Wagener from Daimler: nine people that are key to contemporary car design. Nine design chiefs influencing the appearance of almost every car in the world.

The book shows the men behind the machines, tells their stories, presents their compelling personalities, and unveils some drawings that have never been seen before.

True to the subtitle ‘Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve been drawing cars’, it focuses on the human aspect with childhood pictures and early illustrations, thus emphasising that these were once young boys with a dream, that eventually came true. It hopes to be inspirational for young talents.

Each designer has an own chapter, based on interviews, written as if the designer talks directly to the reader. The book doesn’t give a right or wrong answer. The designers sometimes agree with each other, more often they contradict. That’s how complicated car design is.

The book won first prize in the prestigious ADAC Buchpreis award at the Frankfurt Book Fair.

The book is written, produced and published by WAFT Publishing, a small, independent company run by photographer Lies De Mol and motoring journalist Bart Lenaerts.

This hardcover book with soft touch finishing measures 30×30 centimetres and has 252 pages. A German version is made with Delius Klasing Publishing. The English version is only available at www.waft.be. Both cost 60 euros.

WAFT also sells other books about motoring culture. WAFT 1 & 2 are both limited to 1.000 copies only. The first has a unique ‘oil on canvas’ cover painted with real engine oil, the second a cover with paint of exceptional prototypes. Belgian Car Designers features ten car designers that are born and raised in Belgium.

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