David Bache
| David Bache | |
|---|---|
| Born |
14 June 1925 Worcestershire, United Kingdom |
| Died | 26 November 1994 (aged 69) |
| Nationality | British |
| Known for | Automobile design |
David Ernest Bache (14 June 1925 – 26 November 1994) was a British car designer. For much of his career he worked with Rover.
Bache was born in Mannheim, Germany, the son of Aston Villa and England footballer Joe Bache who was coaching in Mannheim following his retirement. Towards the end of World War II David joined the Austin Motor Company as an engineering apprentice. When he had finished his apprenticeship he moved to Austin's design office.
In the Austin design office Bache worked under Dick Burzi, recruited from Lancia by Austin in 1929. One of his first jobs was to design the dashboard of the Austin A30.
In 1954 Bache moved to Rover in Solihull, becoming Rover's first ever stylist, 'stylist' was used at the time to differentiate the role from that of design engineer. His first task was to update the Rover 60, 75 and 90 models. He raised the boot height and enlarged the rear window. A year later he modified the frontal treatment strengthening the detail and the new David Bache styled cars lasted ten more years with a very minor alteration to the grille inset.
He was also responsible for giving the Land Rover Series II a more domesticated appearance than its more agricultural predecessor. The revised shape, completed in just six weeks lives on today, little changed, in Land Rover's Defender.
The shape of cars was changing dramatically during the 1950s as soft rounded curves gave way to straight lines and sharp corners. Improvements in construction enabled engineers to dispense with a separate chassis, allowing passengers to sit lower in the vehicle. The development of curved glass also gave stylists new opportunities. A visit to the 1955 Paris Auto Show would have a profound effect on Bache's style vocabulary. He was very taken with the revolutionary new Citroen DS, as well as the imposing Facel Vega. Other influences were the Italian coach-builder Ghia's designs for Chrysler, and work of Pininfarina, who had been commissioned to produce a coupé and convertible on the Rover P4 chassis prior to Bache's arrival.
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