Tesla’s Top Designer Reveals a Surprising V8-Powered Pontiac in His Garage

Franz von Holzhausen is the senior design executive at Tesla, responsible for the styling of the Model S, Model X, Model Y, and the Cybertruck. But his personal garage isn’t all electric.

He recently showed Jay Leno a 400-horsepower Pontiac Solstice powered by an LS2 V8. The twist: von Holzhausen also designed that car. It started as a secret internal challenge from Bob Lutz at General Motors in the mid-2000s, aimed at reviving the Pontiac brand. Von Holzhausen’s sketch won, and he says it was inspired by historic race cars he saw at Laguna Seca.

0-liter in GXP models. 0-liter LS2, swapped in by Mallet Performance Cars of North Carolina, a shop known for GM conversions. The LS2 is mostly stock, with only exhaust upgrades.

Other modifications are minimal: a staggered wheel setup (19-inch front, 20-inch rear) to match his original design, while the five-speed manual transmission remains unchanged.

The author notes the car’s existence doesn’t excuse the Cybertruck’s design choices, but it does show the designer has good taste elsewhere. The piece also mentions the Solstice’s sister platform, the Saturn Sky, as a fun car, especially with Corvette-level power.