Earlier this year, legendary designer Giorgetto Giugiaro sold his remaining 9.9 percent stake in Italdesgin Giugiaro and finally stepped down from the design firm, which he established in 1968. The 9.9 percent stake was sold to the Volkswagen Group, which owned the other 90.1 percent of Italdesgin following a deal made in 2010.
There was never an official reason for the departure of Giugiaro, together with his son Fabrizio who was also at the firm, though there are rumblings the decision may have been linked with the ouster of Ferdinand Piech from VW. Giugiaro and Piech have been good friends since 1972, when the former VW chairman briefly worked at Italdesign in order to learn about car design and construction.
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Despite turning 77 this year, Giugiaro has no plans to retire just yet and will likely start a new design firm.
“I don’t feel old enough to retire,” Giugiaro told Automotive News (subscription required). “I will continue to do the only thing I'm good at—designing cars.”
The new firm will likely cater to automakers based in Asia, possibly firms from China or South Korea. However, talks with potential clients are ongoing.
Giugiaro remains one of the most lauded designers in the world. Some highlights from his illustrious career include the original VW Golf and Maserati Ghibli as well as the BMW M1 supercar.
