Dutch-American car designer Tom Tjaarda

In an earlier post, I wrote about the beautiful and early exotic car, the De Tomaso Pantera, designed by Tom Tjaarda (under Ghia Marcello Gandini). The son of the Dutch-American auto designer Joop Tjaarda van Stakenburg (1897-1962), who renamed himself John Tjaarda on coming to the US in 1923, Tom lived with his mom in Detroit where graduated from the University of Michigan. He studied engineering and specialized in car design, like his father.

Tom Tjaarda designed or contributed to numerous cars. In my opinion, his most famous projects are listed below:

Chevrolet Corvette Rondine (1963):
The second generation (C2) sported a very elegant shape of which various cues were later found on the fiat 124 spider. One of the most striking novelties of the new Corvette were the reverse rotational flip up headlights, which would remain a Corvette feature until the C6 was introduced in 2004.

Ferrari 365 GT California (1966-1972)
This was Ferrari's large FR layout grand tourer and 2+2. Although often overshadowed by the 365 GT "Daytona", the California came with an evolutionary body by Pininfarina, whom Tjaarda worked for. The body and trim were actually fitted at Pinifarina's Grugliasco plant, after which the chassis were returned to Ferrari for fitment of mechanical components.

Fiat 124 Spider Pininfarina (1966-1985)
The 2+2 convertible sports car was designed by Tjaarda at Pininfarina and sported elements of his earlier designs, such as the Corvette Rondine and Ferrari 275 GTS. The monocoque-bodied car was build and marketed by Pinifarina itself from 1983 to 1985. I had one in high school and it's body's styling always attracted lots of attention.

De Tomaso Pantera (197-1991)
For the pantera, Tjaarda worked under Ghia Marcello Gandini. The sports car featured a steel monocoque design, a first for the manufacturer based in Modena, Italy. The car featured many exotic standard features for European standards, such as electric windows and A/C. The coupe was powered by a Ford 351 Cleveland V8. To me this is one of the most under-rated early exotic cars.

Lamborghini Diablo (interior)
In 1987, Chrysler bought Lamborghini and as it provided the money to complete the Diablo's development, it requested some of its original design to be re-done in Detroit. As such, Tjaarda worked on its interior, which came better equipped that the Countach's. It even had as an option a custom-molded driver's seat.


Tom Tjaarda was also involved in the design of the Chrysler LeBaron, Aston Martin Lagonda Coupe, Spyker GT Sport and Shelby Series 2, but to a lesser degree than the previous ones. For his full range of car design work, click here.

Thanks for reading.

Source: Wikipedia.
Photo credit: ultimatecarpage.com, dupontregistry.com, mclellansautomotive.com, autorightwheel.com, piximus.net