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SangYup Lee

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This article is about the Korean car designer. For the actor, see Lee Sang-yeob. For the fencer, see Lee Sang-yup.
In this Korean name, the family name is Lee.
SangYup Lee
Born (1969-11-22) 22 November 1969 (age 55)
Seoul, South Korea
EducationHongik University
Occupation
  • Designer
Years active2000–present
Korean name
Hangul
이상엽
Hanja
Revised RomanizationI Sangyeop
McCune–ReischauerI Sangyŏp

SangYup Lee (Korean: 이상엽; sometimes styled as Sang-yup, Sangyup, or Sang Yup; born 22 November 1969) is a South Korean automobile designer employed by Hyundai Motor Company as its Vice President of Design since June 2016. Prior to Hyundai, Lee worked for General Motors (2000–09) and Volkswagen AG (2010–16), where his notable designs included the Chevrolet Camaro (2010), Bentley Continental GT, and Bentley Flying Spur.

Early life and education

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SangYup Lee was born on 22 November 1969,[1] in Seoul, South Korea. He attended an art cram school starting at the age of 12[2] and graduated from Hongik University with a degree in fine arts (sculpture). He came to the United States in 1995 to study automotive design at the ArtCenter College of Design in Pasadena, California.[3] That choice was inspired by the Korean manhwa and 1995 drama Asphalt Man, starring Lee Byung-hun as an automobile designer,[4] as well as a chance encounter with a Porsche in Itaewon.[5]

Career

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I grew up in Korea with cars like Sephia and Elantra. I had little exposure to the world of sports cars, but that ended up working as an advantage. I had a fresh take on the old classic [Chevrolet Camaro].

Lee Sang-yup, 2010 interview with The Korea Times[5]

While he was studying at the ArtCenter College of Design, Lee participated in internships at Pininfarina and Porsche AG.[5] After his graduation in 1999, Lee was hired by General Motors to lead the design for the next-generation Corvette.[3] In addition to the fifth-generation Camaro,[4] Lee was responsible for the design of the Cadillac Sixteen (2003), Buick Velite (2004), and Stingray Corvette (2009) concepts, the latter of which was featured as the character "Sideswipe" in the film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen.[5][6][7] While at GM, the peripatetic Lee lived in Detroit, Japan, Italy, and Australia while developing various designs, including projects with Gruppo Bertone and Holden.[8]

After ten years at GM, Lee joined Volkswagen as chief exterior designer at the VW/Audi Advanced studio in January 2010, under Executive Design Director Jens Manske.[9] That studio initially was in Simi Valley before moving to Santa Monica in 2006 and then Oxnard in 2020, being renamed Design Center California in the process.[10] Walter de Silva, head of VW Group Design, changed the focus of the California studio from concepts to more practical cars in 2009.[11] At DCC, Lee said he learned "all of design's precision execution" while acting in an internal design consulting role to other VW/Audi studios. In 2013, Lee was promoted to head the exterior design group of Bentley under Luc Donckerwolke, Bentley's director of design.[8]

Lee left Bentley for Hyundai in June 2016, where he was reunited with his former boss, Donckerwolke.[12] He later described the sense of freedom he gained from the move: "Bentley's legacy is unbelievable, but this weight from the legacy on your shoulders is quite heavy, so when you do the sketch you ask, is this 'Bentley' enough? With Hyundai you have more freedom."[13] Lee was named the head of the Hyundai Global Design Center in 2018[14] and later was promoted to Executive Vice President of Design in December 2021, replacing Peter Schreyer.[15]

Notable designs

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2009 Stingray Corvette concept
Genesis GV80

References

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  1. ^ "2023 World Car Person of the Year". World Car Awards. Retrieved 10 February 2024.
  2. ^ Shirouzu, Norihiko; Jin, Hyunjoo (November 18, 2013). "Insight - Work ethic, comic hero make Koreans hot shots in car design". Reuters. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  3. ^ a b Courtenay, Vince (May 16, 2016). "Hyundai Hires Ace Korean Designer Away From Bentley". Wards Auto. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  4. ^ a b Shirouzu, Norihiko (July 22, 2008). "Korean Car Designers Make Their Mark On the U.S. Auto Industry". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  5. ^ a b c d e Han, Jane (September 12, 2010). "Star car designer on fast track". The Korea Times. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  6. ^ "Corvette Stingray Concept: Sangyup Lee". Designers Party. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  7. ^ a b c Gallina, Eric (May 16, 2016). "Bentley Exterior Design Director Sangyup Lee Leaves to Join Hyundai". FormTrends. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  8. ^ a b Gallina, Eric (March 1, 2013). "Sangyup Lee to Head Exterior Design at Bentley". FormTrends. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  9. ^ Ramsey, Jonathon (December 25, 2009). "Camaro exterior designer Sang Yup Lee moves to VW/Audi". Autoblog. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  10. ^ "Volkswagen completes expansion project in California, creating new Oxnard Engineering Campus". Automotive World. July 27, 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  11. ^ Finlay, Steve (February 4, 2013). "VW's California Design Studio Gets More Work". Wards Auto. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  12. ^ a b c Weiner, Eric (May 17, 2016). "Hyundai Snags Bentley Designer Sangyup Lee for Genesis Brand". Motor Trend. Reuters. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  13. ^ Miller, Caleb (April 15, 2022). "Hyundai Design Chief SangYup Lee on the Company's Design Future". Car and Driver. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  14. ^ "Hyundai Motor's Global Design Head SangYup Lee Receives FAI Grand Prize of Design" (Press release). Hyundai Media Center. January 28, 2021. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  15. ^ Park, Eun-jee (December 17, 2021). "Hyundai promotes 203 executives with focus on research". Korea JoongAng Daily. Yonhap. Retrieved 29 July 2022.
  16. ^ Patton, Phil (March 25, 2009). "New Camaro Turns Heads in Manhattan". Wheels [blog]. The New York Times. Retrieved 29 July 2022. None of the designers had been born when the 1969 Camaro was introduced. "There was no tradition of muscle cars in Korea," said Mr. Lee [the exterior design manager], who is 39.
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