Target Design created the original Suzuki Katana motorcycle shown at the 1980 Cologne Motor Show.
Target Design was a German design team led by Hans-Georg Kasten, Jan Fellstrom and Hans Muth. Suzuki commissioned the group to explore a new styling direction, producing a sharply angular prototype that became associated with the Katana name.
The production GSX1100S Katana appeared in the early 1980s and combined radical styling with Suzuki’s established inline-four sport-bike technology. Its stepped tank, integrated fairing and angular bodywork looked very different from the rounded designs common at the time.
The Katana is often incorrectly credited to Italian automotive studios because of its dramatic appearance. However, the original concept’s documented design connection is Target Design. Suzuki later revived the Katana name for a modern motorcycle, but that later model was a separate interpretation of the original styling.