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Jason
Castriota is Design Director at Stile Bertone. On his
first day at Stile Bertone, 2 December 2008, he recorded
this exclusive interview with Italiaspeed.
One of the most
significant moves this year in the automotive design world,
was the announcement of Jason Castriota’s departure from
Pininfarina. During his seven and a half year period at
Pininfarina, Castriota’s reputation as one of the main
trendsetters in the auto design sector which grew from
strength to strength.
Born in New York
to Italian parents, Castriota attended the Art Center
College of Design in Pasadena. After his internship at the
Pininfarina design studio, he decided to stay in Turin
rather than return to the US to complete his studies. At
Pininfarina, Castriota initially worked under Lorenzo
Ramaciotti.
Production cars
at Pininfarina developed by Castriota included the Ferrari
599 GTB Fiorano and Maserati GranTurismo. Castriota’s talent
also caused the greatest stir at the 2005 Geneva Motor Show
with the Maserati Birdcage 75th, a working concept
celebrating the 75th anniversary of Pininfarina.
Castriota’s
intense involvement with Pininfarina's Special Project
division resulted in an exciting array of one-off coachbuilt
cars, including the Ferrari 612 “K” for Peter Kalikow,
Ferrari 612 P4/5 for James Glickenhaus and more recently the
Rolls-Royce Hyperion for Rolls-Royce collector Roland Hall.
These designs played a significant role in reviving the fine
art of Italian tailor-made coachbuilding for the 21st
century.
Jason left
Pininfarina on the eve of the Paris Mondial de l’Automobile
in September, with the intention to set up his own design
consultancy firm. “I was convinced to set up my own design
company, and would have been very happy to do so.” Fellow
designers were intrigued as to what moves Castriota would
make next.
However, Stile
Bertone approached Castriota with a proposition. “They made
me an offer I couldn’t refuse,” reported Castriota,
energetic and enthusiastic as always. Restructured under new
management, with former Aprilia CEO Teresio Gaudio as
managing director, and Marie-Jeanne Bertone as Vice
Chairman, Stile Bertone asked Castriota to take on the role
as new Design Director.
The position
sees him following in the footsteps of Scotsman David Wilkie
who left Bertone for Mindset in September after his 5-year
period at the design studio based in Caprie. As Design
Director at Stile Bertone, Castriota says, “It’s a great
honour and an even greater challenge!”
Castriota has
hand-picked a new team of 12 talented and highly
accomplished designers. At 34 years old, Castriota is the
oldest member of the Stile Bertone design team. “We will
rebuild Bertone’s strengths to become a leader in the design
consultancy segment. We are not only focusing on OEM’s in
established markets, but also new markets such as Russia,
India and China. There is lots of space for consultancy if
its done well.
“We also wish to
develop personalised coachbuilt cars for individual
clientele. This is following my experience at Pininfarina
for fuoriserie models in the Special Project division.
“Bertone has
such a fantastic heritage. At 96 years, Bertone is the
oldest Italian name in car design that survives to this day.
The designs over the years have always been mould-breaking,
created by legendary designers such as Franco Scaglione,
Giorgetto Giugiaro and Marcello Gandini.”
More recently
David Wilkie was responsible for concepts, such as the
Bertone Barchetta and the Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 11. Following
from where Wilkie left off, Castriota is interested in
creating an even more extreme derivative of the Alfa Romeo
B.A.T. theme. With 2009 drawing near, Stile Bertone is back
in the arena amongst the greatest Italian carrozzeria. The
Piedmont design company is looking forward to celebrating
its first century of activity in 2012.
Q and A with
Jason Castriota
Q: What is
the reason for the relatively young design team at Bertone?
A: I
really set out to create a team of people that would create
a nervous but positive energy – a team that could challenge
each-other. I wanted to find super-talented people who were
above all courageous and unafraid to push. I believe in
dramatic car design – I want people to be captivated – and
to do that you need courage. Sometimes after your umpteenth
production program where you have just spent the last 8
months fighting over a 2.5mm vs 2.75mm radius you can get a
bit stale. Youth brings enthusiasm, innocence and dynamism
to the studio, which is fundamental to our success as a
team. Everyone is young – I would say the average age falls
around 28 years old but the division is clear. The senior
level and Chief Designers are all around 30-34 years old
with 8-10 years of experience. Each and every one of my
senior members has significant concept and production
experience. This youthful and dynamic management team –
which is by no means stale – will be pushed by our 6 Junior
designers who all have from 0-2 years of experience.
The fact that we
are young, dynamic and lightweight organisation is an
incredibly advantage in today’s rapidly changing market
where everyone wants results yesterday. It is of paramount
importance to be able to produce high quality work as
efficiently as possible. The reality is that the playing
field has changed for design consultancies and the
carrozzeria in particular.
Q: How do see
the world of design consultancy evolving?
A: While
not impossible, it is rare for a consultancy to play the
same dominant and intensive role in the development of cars
for established OEMs that we once did. Today every
established player has invested big money into their own
design studios and personnel who work round the clock on
curing their respective brand.
While we certainly still have some
opportunities to bring cars to fruition for our traditional European clients, we
recognise that our role is now more often than not, to be that of a sparring
partner – to create something provocative that might be difficult for them to do
internally. We have the possibility to give them a unique perspective from
someone outside their system who isn’t immersed in the brand 365 days a year.
The advantage of being on the outside looking in, is the freedom of going on our
gut instincts rather than being limited by the design politics of what is or
isn’t happening inside. This can often result in a fresh idea that may not have
been able to be developed internally. Having worked with many iconic brands
during my time at Pininfarina, I can confirm that it is no small feat to push
through new ideas when working with the giants. Brands that are incredibly
strong and iconic such as Ferrari and Maserati have developed their strengths
over decades and as a designer you can not deny what has come before that helped
make those marques successful. This is of course in high contrast to our work
for emerging market clients where we are being entrusted to help create an
entire new brand image, product line ups, and even influence the infrastructure
which in many cases is still under construction. It is clear that the emerging
countries (BRIC) we actually have the ability to redefine the concept of what a
car is. Just because modern luxury means one thing in Europe doesn’t mean it has
to mean the same thing in China. While some of us are nearly ten years into
these emerging markets, this is still virgin territory. No one can say they have
completely figured out these emerging markets as of yet. There is a learning
curve and while we need to apply our know how, we also need to listen and learn
from these new clients whose tastes and needs can be fundamentally very
different from our European clients. Needless to say, our team is eager to
tackle the challenges that lie ahead.
Q: What was
your favourite car when you were a kid?
A: EASY –
Ferrari Modulo, Ferrari 512S, Lamborghini LP500, Lancia
Stratos Zero. Each of these designs utilize very precise
geometries to create bold and expressive volumes.
Q: What was
your first car?
A: VW GTI
16V! With the prerequisite lowered suspension, big wheels
and open exhaust!
Q: What do
like most about a car?
A: Design
wise - I love when a car communicates a clear message, a
theme that is instantly recognizable. Driving wise –
PERFORMANCE!
Q: What is
the difference between Bertone and Pininfarina?
A:
Pininfarina has worked hard at maintaining a singular
identity over the years, and while there are always
exceptions to the rule, overall they have done this very
well. Ultimately Pininfarina has always been about creating
a timeless sporting elegance. Nuccio Bertone took a very
unique approach in that he clearly believed that the design
direction needed to be set by the vision of the director at
the time. Michelotti, Scagilione, Guigaro and Gandini were
all masters during their respective times at Bertone, and
each put forth a unique vision. Of course many if not most
of us certainly associate Bertone design with the Gandini
era when he was creating one awe inspiring object after
another. In fact the early years of Duschamps work as
Director certainly continued in the same general direction,
but over the later years one must admit that there was no
longer a clear message. Ultimately part of the advantage
that Pininfarina has had in cultivating a more singular
message is in thanks to their relationship with Ferrari,
which has allowed them to have prestigious and high profile
cars in the publics eyes year after year. Today, our team’s
homework at Stile Bertone is to establish a new identity,
without denying all the incredible history that came before
us.
Q: What is
your favourite Bertone car of the past?
A:
Concept-wise the Lancia Stratos Zero and the original
Lamborghini LP500 Prototype are pretty hard to beat.
Production-wise their first cousins – the Stratos, and the
LP400 Countach remain the most radical and courageous
designs to ever grace the tarmac. Period.
Q: What is
your favourite car of all time?
A: That’s
a tough one – In terms of Concepts I have to remain with the
choices I made previously and if I may I would like to add
the Maserati Birdcage 75 which is very special to me not
just for the end result but how it came to life. Apart from
the fact that it was a return to the true 'dream car
concept' and created to celebrate the 75th anniversary of
Pininfarina, based on a championship winning Maserati MC12
race car chassis no less – I will never forget the passion
that the entire team put into that project. Everyone really
believed in it and I can not thank those guys enough.
With production
cars it’s difficult because each car brings forth different
attributes. Not surprisingly I am a bit of a sports car nut
so driving wise I have to put my money on the Ferrari 360
Challenge Stradale is just soooo special, as is the first
generation Porsche 996 GT3 Club Sport. These were the last
of the truly analogue super performance cars in what is know
a digital world. Of course being that I grew up in the
1980’s, no list of favourite/greatest cars ever goes
without the madness that is the F40. It changed the game.
Q: What dream
do you still wish to realise?
A: While it will probably never happen at this point, I would still love to see
the Birdcage 75th on the road. Unfortunately that project was the victim of bad
timing, and in another time maybe it could have happened in a limited series. As
much as I am a lover of fire spitting sports car I cannot lie that some sense of
civic responsibility is beginning to creep in, and I look forward to the
challenge of redefining cars and particularly sports car in a greener way. The
difficulty that lies ahead is how do we maintain the visceral thrills associated
with the internal combustion engine – the snap crackle pop of the exhaust after
a high rpm downshift or the symphony of 9000RPM’s in your favourite tunnel –
in an alternative fuel source car? Gordon Murray remarked that the Audi Diesel
Powered Le Mans cars should have giant speakers attached with them playing
engine soundtracks because they were so quiet. Anyone that has been in the Tesla
roadster knows it is amazing – but they all miss the soundtrack. At the end of
the day a sports car is not really transportation in the traditional sense so the
parameters that it should be judged by are different. In reality sports cars
and race cars are extremely efficient. But it is clear that we have to take some
radical steps to make them more responsible without loosing what is so special
about them and I certainly hope that I will have the opportunity to partake in
this revolution.
Q: Can we
expect a concept car in Geneva?
A: You’ll
see something in the Spring.
Text & interview
by James Granger
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