Ermanno Cressoni

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Ermanno Cressoni (born July 22, 1939 in Milan ; † June 30, 2005 ibid) was an Italian architect and automobile designer who designed numerous bodies for high-volume models by Alfa Romeo and Fiat and the appearance of both brands from the 1970s to the 1990s. Years shaped.

biography

Managed by Cressoni for 10 years: Alfa Romeo Centro Stile

Ermanno Cressoni completed an architectural training. From 1965 he worked in the Centro Stile of the Milanese car manufacturer Alfa Romeo. After working on a number of Alfa Romeo's sports and production vehicles, he took over the management of Centro Stile in 1975 . Cressoni was the first architect to head the design department of an automobile manufacturer. In the 1970s he developed his design language, which he called La Linea : a profile that rises from front to back with breaks and angles. La Linea determined the appearance of Alfa Romeo sedans until the end of the 1980s. The first car to implement this design language was the Alfa Romeo Giulietta , presented in 1977 , which polarized and was widely criticized. The compact Alfasud successor Alfa 33 and the Alfa 75 , which replaced the Giulietta, also implemented Cressoni's design concept; Alfa Romeo even used the term La Linea to advertise it in contemporary advertisements and brochures . Cressoni's last project for Alfas Centro Stile was the front-wheel-drive 164 , the body of which he designed together with Pininfarina's designer Enrico Fiuma . Cressoni designed a U-shaped handbrake handle for the 75 and the Alfetta successor Alfa 90 , which was produced at the same time , which made it possible to accommodate an additional storage compartment between the front seats. He later had this design patented.

When the economically troubled state-owned company Alfa Romeo was taken over by Fiat in 1986, Cressoni moved to Fiat Centro Stile , of which he became director. Here, among other things, he supervised the design of the small car Cinquecento and the compact models Fiat Bravo and Brava . Stylistically, Cressoni turned away from La Linea and created emphatically rounded shapes. Chris Bangle , Walter de Silva and Andreas Zapatinas worked at Fiat Centro Stile under Cressoni's direction . You later became influential designers yourself and successfully headed the design departments of large automakers.

After the turn of the millennium, Cressoni left the Fiat group. In the following years he worked as a freelance consultant for the Turin studio I.De.A Institute .

Cressoni died at the age of 65 on June 30, 2005 in his hometown of complications from cancer .

plant

Under the direction of Cressoni, the bodies of the following series models were created:

Concept vehicles with Cressoni's participation:

gallery

  • Alfa Romeo Giulietta (1977)

  • Alfa Romeo 33 (1983)

  • Alfa Romeo 75 (1985)

  • Fiat Cinquecento (1991)

  • Fiat Brava (1995)

  • Lancia Dialogos

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ This lettering can be found on an Alfa Romeo 8C Competizione from 2007, the shape of which was not designed by Ermanno Cressoni.
  2. ↑ a b Markus Caspers: Designing Motion: Automobildesigner from 1890 to 1990 , Birkhäuser, 2017, ISBN 9783035607772 , p. 88.
  3. ↑ NN: Foaming Proverbs . In: Der Spiegel , issue 19/1985, p. 208.
  4. ^ Jan-Henrik Muche: Alfa on offer. Purchase advice Alfa Romeo Nuova Giulietta. autobild.de, September 2, 2013, accessed October 10, 2018 .
  5. ↑ NN: Amore at second glance. focus.de, October 30, 2017, accessed October 10, 2018 .
  6. ↑ NN: Poor Julchen. In: Der Spiegel . Issue 46/1981, pp. 274-276.
  7. ^ Robert Foskett: Alfa Romeo 916 GTV and Spider: The Complete Story , Crowood, 2013, ISBN 9781847975331 .
  8. ↑ Illustration in a sales brochure for the Alfa 75 from 1991 (accessed on November 2, 2018).
personal data
SURNAME Cressoni, Ermanno
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Italian vehicle designer
DATE OF BIRTH July 22, 1939
PLACE OF BIRTH Milan
DATE OF DEATH June 30, 2005
Place of death Milan