Albrecht Graf Goertz to celebrate his 90th birthday

Munich. The creator of a BMW legend is soon to celebrate his birthday - at BMW:
Albrecht Graf von Goertz, who designed the BMW 507 sports car in 1955, will be
90. He was born on January 12, 1914 as the second son to an old aristocratic
family in Germany. His parents were Else and Rudolf Graf von Schlitz gen. von
Goertz und Freiherr von Wriesberg. Together with two siblings Albrecht grew up
on their parents' estate near Brunkensen (Lower Saxony), about 40 kilometres
south of Hanover. At the age of five or six he discovered a passion for cars
which has lasted all his life, and one day he began to design them. Goertz
still has some of these early sketches.
After attending school, the young Count started an apprenticeship with the
Deutsche Bank in Hamburg in 1933. But within one year he changed jobs and went
to the London-based private bank Helbert Wagg &Co. However, his future
prospects in Europe were not very promising. In 1935, Goertz applied to the
American embassy at Grosvenor Square for an entry visa to the USA. In the
autumn of 1936, he left Europe for New York.

A distant relative in New York helped him at the beginning but soon the young
Count, driven by his restlessness, left for the South and then, finally,
arrived in Los Angeles. To earn his living Goertz worked at a car wash, in a
factory for aircraft engines, and at a flight service. The car aficionado
watched with interest as the Hot Rod era emerged and grabbed the chance with
both hands: in 1938, Goertz rented a garage and a show room at Rodeo Drive and
began to tune Ford A and B models. On the chassis of a Mercury he built his
first car, the curved "Paragon", a two door coupé with rear wheel trims and
unconventional rear side windows. Somehow Goertz even managed to exhibit this
car at the World Exhibition in San Francisco in 1939.

In 1940, Goertz was conscripted and served in the army for five years. When he
came back to Los Angeles, he took the Paragon out of the garage, made all the
necessary travel arrangements and headed for New York. There his first wife,
who has since remarried, introduced him to society. On the car park of the
world-famous Waldorf-Astoria hotel the Count probably had the most fateful
encounter of his whole life: "There was a strange car in front of me, so I got
out of my car to have a look at the other car and the man sitting in it got out
to have a look at mine. This man was Raymond Loewy, a renowned designer". He
invited Goertz to his office, sent him to a design college and gave him a job
in the Studebaker studio in Indiana.

In 1953, the Count, who by then had worked for three famous designers, set up
his own business. Through his network of contacts he got to know Max Hoffmann,
BMW's general importer in America. Hoffmann knew of BMW's plans to build a big
sports car and encouraged Goertz to contact BMW in Munich. Goertz sketched an
awesome vehicle and won the bid. In less than 18 months he did the design of
the BMW 507, the car which celebrated its world premiere in the New York
Waldorf-Astoria hotel in 1955. At the same time Goertz designed an elegant
coupé that was also available as a convertible: the BMW 503. This four-seater
debuted together with the BMW 507 at the 1955 Frankfurt Motor Show, where both
luxury automobiles caused a sensation. Even today, the BMW 503 and the BMW 507
are considered to be absolute dream cars. Sporty, elegant and also cultivated,
they represent the core attributes of a BMW car.

These designs had a leverage effect on Albrecht Graf Goertz's career: above
all, Japanese car manufacturers were frequent visitors to his New York design
studio. Sports cars, which enjoy world-wide success, as well as items of
everyday life, jewellery and furniture bear his mark. The Count still has a
penchant for car design and has retained his restless spirit until this very
day: "I have always been curious and on the lookout for countries that offer
opportunities, countries where I have no cause for complaint".

Albrecht Graf Goertz still has some ties to BMW Group: Regularly, he visits the
Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, Europe's most important Design event. This
classic car meeting that also involves contemporary design prototypes is taking
place under the Patronage of BMW Group. His birthday party also will take place
at BMW: Albrecht Graf Goertz will celebrate his 90th birthday with friends and
family at the BMW Group Mobile Tradition Building in Munich