The VW Group once wanted to turn Sucho into an Alfa Romeo. The former chief designer of the Spanish brand is heading to Alfa. After a short episode with Dacia.
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Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos is an experienced car designer. He started his career in 1994 at Satt, of which he became chief designer in 2011 after an episode at Renault and his Korean brand Samsung. Last year, however, he left the position after nine years and headed for Renault with Seata CEO Luca de Meem.. But he did not last a year in the French group.
The Spanish designer was put in charge of Dacia’s style with the old-new employerwhen he officially became Vice President of Design for this Romanian brand in October 2010. However, he left the position just a few months later when it became clear this month that he was leaving the Renault Group. Under his leadership, it was created only concept of a seven-seater SUV Dacia Bigster.
It was quite shocking news, simply because his superior, Luca de Meo, commented on his departure, saying it was a disappointment. As a result, Mesonero-Romenos himself took this step.
It was speculated that he received an offer from another carmaker, which has now been confirmed. It has already been revealed where the Spanish stylist is going. It is a competition, the multinational group Stellantis, created this year by the merger of FCA and PSA, which was reported by various media from France and Italy on the basis of internal reports.
According to behind-the-scenes reports, Mesonero-Romanos will be in charge of the design of Alfa Romeo cars at the new employer. The Italian carmaker has not yet officially confirmed this, but writes about it on the basis of internal sources, for example, the French magazine L’Automobile. Specifically, he is due to join Alfa in May. Today, Alfa’s design manager is in charge of Klaus Busse, who is also vice president of design for the Abarth, Fiat, Maserati and Lancia brands.
Instead of cheap Romanian cars, Mesonero-Romanos will design sports-styled premium cars from an Italian manufacturer with a rich history. So it will be a completely different challenge than before. We can only speculate that this may seem more prestigious and interesting work, moreover with the potential of more realized models than with Dacia. Stellantis and Alfa have big plans to be implemented by a new director, Jean-Philippe Imparato, who joined the Italian brand from Peugeot.
Spicy on the whole is the fact that Mesonero-Romanos worked for Satt for nine years, from which the VW Group tried for years to make such an Alfa Romeo, after that, what did not come out buying the famous Italian brand. Now Mesonero-Romanos will have a chance to show his talent directly to the Italians.
Dacia, meanwhile, will be looking for a new chief designer. At least for the time being, David Durand, a long-time Renault Group designer who focuses on the design of affordable vehicles, will hold this position. He has such extensive experience with Dacia when he was already involved in the current Sander and Logan.
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