Walter de Silva

Walter de Silva (1951-) is one of the most prestigious names in the exclusive world of contemporary car design, an area in which he has risen to a real status as an international star. Born in Lecco, he lived his first work experiences at the Fiat Style Center in Turin and in the studio of the Milanese architect Rodolfo Bonetto, where he deals with interior design. In 1986 he was hired by Alfa Romeo and became the protagonist of the great relaunch of the Milanese brand, back from several years of fogging, culminating in the design of two models that won the European Car of the Year award: the Alfa Romeo 158 (1998) and Alfa Romeo 1147 (2001). Having achieved international fame, he moved to the employment of one of the largest automotive groups in the world, the Germans of Volkswagen, who from 1999 entrusted him with the design of Seat models first and then the role of chief designer of the group's sports brands, Audi. and Lamborghini, before becoming supervisor of the Volkswagen Style Center in 2007, which oversees the design of all seven Volkswagen brands. In this capacity he signed the relaunch of some historic Volksagen models, once again elected Car of the Year, such as Polo (2010), Golf (2013) and Passat (2015), and was awarded a Compasso d'Oro for his career in 2011 In 2015 he leaves every position in the Volkswagen group. His special collaborations as a designer with brands from other sectors are rare, such as Leica for the world of photography or Poltrona Frau in the field of furniture.