Even if joining Bertone seemed not to be the artist's top interests at first, according to Car Design News, the decision to occupy the position of Design Director at Stile Bertone is now official as he has already started his new job on December 1st. Castriota replaced David Wilkie who left Bertone for the electric car startup Mindset full-time in October. "I was convinced I would set up my own consultancy and be free and elastic" he confessed "but they made me an offer I couldn't refuse." And let's just not forget that "at the end of the day it's great to follow in the footsteps of some of the greats in automotive design" Castriota added.
Being part of a team of professionals is certainly an incentive for everyone, even for him as his intention is to "become a leader in the consultancy segment; a center of reference". Setting high objectives is always challenging: "Our objective is to strive to be a boutique of excellence" said the talented designer.
In case you wonder what the man did to be on the wanted-list of Bertone, you have to know his masterpieces include the projects done at Pininfarina such as: the Ferrari P4/5, Maserati Birdcage 75th, Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano, Maserati GranTurismo and the Rolls-Royce Hyperion, whose design was supervised by Design Director Lowie Vermeersch and unveiled at this year's Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
Although his parents are Italian, Castriota was born in New Year and started to work at Pininfarina after obtaining an internship at the Italian coach-builder's facilities while a student at Art Center College of Design. After he finished the internship, he thought it was more important for his carrier to remain there rather to return and finish his studies. Later, he worked under the supervision of Ken Okuyama at Pininfarina, continuing his training.
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