Dick Burzi

Ricardo Burzi ( – ?) was an Argentine automotive designer, best known for his work with the Austin Motor Company in Birmingham, England.

Burzi was born around 1900 in Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina, to a French mother. By 1929 he was working in Italy for Lancia, but was forced to leave after drawing cartoons belittling Benito Mussolini that were published in several newspapers. Initially, Lancia moved Burzi to their coachbuilding firm in Paris. However, he was soon recruited by Lord Austin to work at Longbridge in Birmingham, after Austin received a recommendation from Vincenzo Lancia, whom he met while travelling to the United States. Passenger lists show that, on 3 January 1929, Austin and Lancia both arrived at New York aboard RMS Berengaria (not the often-quoted RMS Queen Mary,

Notable cars designed by Burzi in the post-war era included the Austin A30/A35, the Austin A40 Devon, Somerset and Cambridge, the Austin A70 Hampshire/Hereford, the Austin A90 Atlantic, and the Austin A110/A125 Sheerline.

One day, Lord handed the "Flying B" bonnet mascot from his Bentley to Burzi, to create something similar. Burzi altered the slope of the "B" and formed a stylised "A", attached a skeletal wing to the trailing edge, and wrapped it in foil. On some models, it doubled as the bonnet release, operated by tilting it forwards.