Gilles Vidal, the freshly appointed Head of Design for Stellantis’ European brands, arrives in Turin with a monumental mission: to shape the visual future of fourteen legendary marques. And he knows it won’t be easy. “We’re facing the toughest challenges in the last thirty or forty years”, he admits, and in a world where car design evolves as fast as a software update, that’s hardly an exaggeration.
With over three decades in the industry, from his early days at Citroen to leading Renault’s creative direction, Vidal understands that automotive design isn’t just about pretty lines, but about storytelling. “Cars shouldn’t just be beautiful; they should speak, surprise, and stay true to the badge they wear”, he told Italian journalists. To achieve that, he says, designers need a careful blend of experience, flexibility, and heritage awareness. “We should always ask ourselves: if this brand disappeared tomorrow, would people actually miss it?”. It’s a question that sounds almost poetic but serves as the north star for his design philosophy.
Artificial intelligence came up in the conversation. Vidal sees it as a powerful tool, not a replacement. “AI can generate hundreds of design proposals in seconds, but it will never replace the spark of human creativity” A computer might draw a car, but only a human can give it a soul.On the topic of retro design, Vidal is cautiously pragmatic. “Retro-futuristic cars can work, but only when they make sense. Personally, I’d rather draw inspiration from something so old it becomes fashionable again”.
As for the Italian stars of Stellantis, Vidal praises Fiat and Alfa Romeo. “The new Grande Panda is exactly what you expect from Fiat, though not every Fiat will look like it. The key is staying true to the brand’s spirit”. Regarding the Alfa Romeo Junior, he calls it “a smart break from tradition, not spectacular, but intelligent and true to its DNA. ”When it comes to Maserati, Vidal is more direct: “It needs a leap forward”. The Trident brand, he notes, reinvents itself every twenty years, and the next generation “will stay elegant but gain a more striking visual presence through new shapes, surfaces, and lighting”.
