Walter de Silva

Walter de Silva (born February 27, 1951, in Lecco, Italy) is a renowned Italian automotive designer, known for his innovative contributions to car design across multiple high-profile brands. His career spans over four decades, with notable roles at Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Volkswagen Group, and Lamborghini, among others.

De Silva’s design journey began in 1972 at Fiat’s Centro Stile in Turin, where he worked on the future Fiat Ritmo. He then moved to Milan in 1975, working at Rodolfo Bonetto’s studio before returning to Piedmont in 1979 to join the I.De.A Institute. His breakthrough came in 1986 when he was hired at Alfa Romeo’s Centro Stile, where he revitalized the brand’s design language, particularly with the iconic front-end design, notably the trilobe grille. Among the models he designed at Alfa Romeo were the 155, 145, 146, GTV, and Spider, culminating in the highly acclaimed Alfa Romeo 156 and 147, both of which won European Car of the Year awards.

In 1999, de Silva moved to the Volkswagen Group, where he played an instrumental role in the design of SEAT’s new models, including the Ibiza, Córdoba, León, and Toledo, as well as the Altea. He soon took on the role of head of Audi’s design, where he introduced the single-frame grille with the 2002 Audi A6, a defining feature that became a hallmark of Audi’s design. His impact extended to Lamborghini, where he oversaw the design of the Miura Concept, his first project with the brand.

By 2007, de Silva became the head of Volkswagen Group’s Design Center, overseeing all seven brands, including Audi, SEAT, Lamborghini, Škoda, Bentley, Bugatti, and Volkswagen. He designed iconic vehicles such as the Audi A5 (2010), which won the Design Award, and redefined models like the Volkswagen Golf and Beetle.

In 2011, he received the prestigious Compasso d’Oro for his lifetime achievements in industrial design. After a brief period with Italdesign Giugiaro, de Silva joined the Chinese BAIC Group in 2017 to develop the design language for the ArcFox electric vehicle brand. Walter de Silva’s career has left a lasting mark on automotive design, influencing the future of iconic brands worldwide.