Take a look at everything Peter Horbury has done for Volvo over the last decade
Peter Horbury, who served as Design Manager for Volvo Cars for over a decade and has contributed to shaping the company’s design language in the 1990s, has sadly passed away at the age of 73. So to honour his memory, today, let’s take a look at some of his most memorable work with Volvo.
Peter Horbury was an extremely important person for Volvo Cars, both as a designer and as a person. Many around our company will remember him for his warmth and many others will remember him as the catalyst behind the brand’s major leap in style and design as well.
Moreover, for two periods as Design Manager for Volvo Cars, first from 1991 to 2001 and later again from 2010 to 2011, Peter Horbury was instrumental in the creation and implementation of the company’s new modern design language. In many ways, the style and beauty of Volvo cars today were made possible thanks to Peter.
He was also crucial for all new Volvo models in the 1990s, including the XC90, S80, V70 and award-winning concept cars such as the environment concept car ECC and the safety concept car SCC so clearly, his influence goes beyond just design language for Volvo vehicles.
On top of that, throughout his almost 50-year career, Peter Horbury was also involved in the design of more than 100 cars, trucks, buses and motorcycles. He also led Volvo Car’s design studios in Sweden, Spain and California, and later in Shanghai. This is why Peter was so beloved by so many people all over the globe.
Peter Horbury was a truly exceptional figure in the automotive world will be missed by us all. Our thoughts are with his family and friends and we hope that not only will his influence remain clear in the design of modern Volvo vehicles but also that his creative spirit will live on with the brand now and forever.
Somme examples of production and concept cars developed under the extraordinary leadership of Peter Horbury include the Volvo 400 series, Volvo S40 and V40, Volvo C70, Volvo S70 and V70, Volvo S90 and V90, Volvo S80, Volvo S60, Volvo V70N, Volvo XC70, Volvo XC90, Volvo S40 and V50, Volvo C30, Volvo ECC, Volvo PCC, Volvo SCC, Volvo ACC, Volvo DC1, Volvo ACC2, Volvo PCC2, Volvo VCC, Volvo Universe and Volvo You.
