Italian design guru turns Chinese

German engineering firm EDAG has tempted Italian Walter de Silva out of retirement to design eight new models for a new all-electric Chinese brand.

Sources have confirmed the former head of Volkswagen Group design will head the engineering outfit’s 560-strong Barcelona design studio to design a full range of new models.

De Silva has been tasked with creating an all-new eight-model lineup for BAIC Group’s all-electric start up brand, Arcfox, which will include at least two, possible three SUVs. Sources insist the brand’s entire range will come from de Silva’s pen, and will range from a small city car to a sports car and a fully-fledged limousine.

The role is for an indeterminate period, until EDAG can complete its contract work for the Beijing Automotive Industry Holding company. The state-owned car maker is China’s fifth-biggest car-making concern which employs more than 110,000 staff to build about 2.5 million cars a year.

De Silva retired after a 43-year career, then changed tack completely, designing women’s shoes via his own Walter de Silva Shoes operation.

The 64-year-old De Silva’s work for Arcfox will add to a body of work that rose to prominence at Alfa Romeo and Fiat, followed by the Volkswagen Group’s Spanish subsidiary Seat and then Audi.

He worked closely with then-Audi boss Dr Martin Winterkorn, and when Dr Winterkorn became CEO of the Volkswagen Group in 2007, de Silva became head of design for the Volkswagen Group.

He was credited with the 156, the 166 and the 147 at Alfa Romeo.

While he made his mark at Seat, he is most famous for his work with Audi, where he personally pushed the direction change towards more emotional design with the A6 in 2005, then the original Q7, the 2006 Audi TT and the car of which he was proudest, the original 2007 A5 Coupe.