Working your dream job is a privilege, but when the aspiration of becoming a car designer materializes at one of the most prestigious automotive brands, you can truly say you\u2019ve hit the mark. Mitja Borkert, 50, has been Lamborghini\u2019s Head of Design since 2016. His passion is more than just that \u2013 it\u2019s a (positive) obsession, as he explains.<\/p>\n
When did you realize you wanted to become a car designer?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI have many childhood memories related to drawing. I would draw anything with wheels, from cars to military vehicles. I was born in an East German town 90 kilometres from Berlin, and we certainly didn\u2019t see the models that were circulating in major European cities on our streets. Cars like Lamborghini, Porsche, or Ferrari weren\u2019t well-known in our area, and we mostly admired \u2018normal\u2019 sports cars that we occasionally saw, like the Opel Calibra or the Honda CRX, which became my first car. My brother would sometimes bring home magazines: we would cut them up and create our own model by combining various parts in an album. Our father kept many of those drawings, and sometimes we look at them and smile: we had created a genuine range of vehicles!\u201d<\/p>\n Were there any turning points in your life?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThe fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 gave us the opportunity to open up to the world, taking away pessimism from people\u2019s lives. Thanks to this, I managed to study and then went to Pforzheim University, where they taught me how to transform my drawing ability into a profession. Initially, we designed coffee machines or umbrellas \u2013 not particularly exciting things, but when I discovered the Transportation Design course in 1994, my life changed. I remember the smell of clay in the workshops, and I told myself: \u2018Mitja, you\u2019ll smell this for the rest of your life.\u2019 Mine is a positive obsession.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div> Which encounters changed your career?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIn 1999, I took part in a competition to join Porsche, and Harm Lagaay chose my work. I remember the tension of that moment; I was experiencing a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and couldn\u2019t make any mistakes. Then, for sure, I improved a lot by working with Michael Mauer: those were years where I learned a great deal, and in 2014, I became head of exterior design at Porsche. And, obviously, meeting Walter de Silva changed my life: he was the one who asked me to join Lamborghini. A dream came true.\u201d<\/p>\n What\u2019s a typical day like for Lamborghini\u2019s Head of Design?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThere are two types of typical days. When I\u2019m in Sant\u2019Agata Bolognese, I wake up around 6:30, exercise, and try to look at emails with proposals from my collaborators with a fresh mind. Then I have breakfast with my family and go to work. I spend the day with my designers between presentations and modelling, and I often like to organize meetings in the room with the large screen where I can put up the tape drawings: it\u2019s one of the best ways to understand proportions. The second type of day is while travelling. I use the iPad a lot to evaluate proposals and try to get inspired by the places I visit. If the destination isn\u2019t too far, I like to travel by car \u2013 looking around opens the door to ideas.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>![\"Meet](\"https:\/\/autodesignmagazine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/2025120102_MTD_Borkert.jpg\")
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