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Tom Tjaarda

Tom Tjaarda (born Stevens Thompson Tjaarda van Starkenburg; July 23, 1934 – June 2, 2017) was an American automobile designer noted for his work on a broad range of automobiles — estimated at over eighty — from exotic sports cars including the Ferrari 365 California and De Tomaso Pantera to high-volume popular cars including the first generation Ford Fiesta (1976) and the Fiat 124 Spider (1966). For his work, Tjaarda was honored at the 1997 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance as well as the 1997 Concorso Italiano. Jalopnik called Tjaarda "one of the defining automotive designers of the 20th century." Noted automotive designer and journalist Robert Cumberford called Tjaarda "one of the world’s most accomplished Italian car designers." Car Design News called him "one of the great unsung heroes of the car design world."

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Tom Tjaarda

1959 Selene concept car (Carrozzeria Ghia S.p.A)

Barbariandeagle · CC0

Born
1934. · Detroit.
Died
2017. · Turin.
Nationality
United States.
Occupation
designer.
Education
University of Michigan.

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Tom Tjaarda (born Stevens Thompson Tjaarda van Starkenburg; July 23, 1934 – June 2, 2017) was an American automobile designer noted for his work on a broad range of automobiles — estimated at over eighty — from exotic sports cars including the Ferrari 365 California and De Tomaso Pantera to high-volume popular cars including the first generation Ford Fiesta (1976) and the Fiat 124 Spider (1966). For his work, Tjaarda was honored at the 1997 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance as well as the 1997 Concorso Italiano. Jalopnik called Tjaarda "one of the defining automotive designers of the 20th century." Noted automotive designer and journalist Robert Cumberford called Tjaarda "one of the world’s most accomplished Italian car designers." Car Design News called him "one of the great unsung heroes of the car design world."

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Tom Tjaarda (1934–2017) was an American car designer and designer. Born in Detroit, the car designer died in Turin. Tom Tjaarda studied at University of Michigan.

Composed from admitted, traceable facts · 26 September 2026

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wikidata · Q2540418 · wikipedia · Tom Tjaarda

In this article

  1. 01Biography
  2. 02Notes, references and evidence

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