"Even before all these mods, I was addicted to the car. But unlike the Porsche, it's not a status thing; it's just a great car."
It was funny listening to Derek worry about how the mods would affect his warranty and servicing schedule. You'd think VW's Chief Designer would have a secret password to let him get away with things.
What's more, he has the same GTI ownership experience as us - addictive fun, servicing worries and petty police tickets: "I got pulled over one Saturday morning driving through the canyons. They popped the hood to look for engine mods but I didn't have any. So I got a ticket for the tints and no front plate!"
Living the dream
Let's face it, Derek has a dream job. His story starts as a boy growing up in Huntington Beach, CA during the '80s. "Hot hatches were just emerging, so there were Sciroccos and GTIs everywhere. Plus my Dad was into air-cooleds, so I was immersed in these influences," Derek explained.
"My first car was a VW Thing I fixed up as my surf-mobile. Then I bought an '86 Audi GT Coupe. It was just after Audi's problems with unintended acceleration, so I got it cheap, but it was an amazing car. I lowered it, fitted 15" Ronal R10s, an exhaust and sound system. I kept it through college and it inspired me to work for VAG or Porsche," he recalled. "I was on a mission, and eventually got accepted to the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena on the Transport Design course. I was amazingly lucky to get in and concentrated on VAG and Porsche designs. This paid off when Porsche decided to review our portfolios and I was selected to receive a scholarship. I then interned at Porsche's Weissach Design Center. It was a dream come true, but showed me I had lots to learn and needed to grow as a designer.
"The following year I interned at Audi's Simi Valley, CA studio under J Mays (New Beetle, Ford T-Bird), Freeman Thomas (TT) and Verena Kloos (now at BMW). I learned a lot in that environment and got exposed to VW/Audi design."
He obviously made an impression because he was subsequently hired by Mays to work at Audi in Ingolstadt, Germany. During his tenure, Derek was responsible for the A2 ("I'm really proud of that car, but it was ten years ahead of its time.") and the current A8.
Having worked on production vehicles, he returned to Simi Valley, producing AL2 concepts that preceded the A2 launch.
In '00 he joined VW as Chief Designer in the same facility, a role the 37 year-old still holds. Since then he's produced VW's Concept T, Ragster and GX3 concepts, while heavily influencing the new Scirocco. He's perhaps proudest of the famous Microbus concept, which was inspired by a T3 bus and three Euro vans he owned - each was lowered, some got Porsche wheels, but all were cool.