Cure for the Common Mitsubishi? Brand Hires Former Audi and Alfa Designer

There’s no denying that every last TTACer looked at the Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross with a raised eyebrow. Not the intrigued kind, either. While the compact crossover’s design can certainly be called polarizing, an easy consensus existed in this chat room. Try again, basically.

As the resurgent Mitsubishi brand awaits new models build with help from its Renault-Nissan Alliance partners, a new addition to the team is ready to help sculpt those future vehicles.

Alessandro Dambrosio, who headed design at Alfa Romeo for eight years before jumping ship to Audi, has joined the Mitsubishi fold as the brand’s new executive design director. Dambrosio will oversee three design studios — two in Japan, another in Germany.

Reporting to Tsunehiro Kunimoto, corporate vice-president of Mitsubishi’s design division, Dambrosio’s past makes him an interesting hire.

At Fiat Group, the designer had a hand in the Lancia Granturismo, Alfa Kamal and Maserati MC concept cars, then helped craft the Alfa 159, Giulietta and Mito, as well as the Maserati Grancabrio. Switching teams, Dambrosio headed to Volkswagen Group in 2009. There, he worked on models as diverse as the VW Polo and Passat, Bentley Bentayga, and Audi A4 and A5. His hands were also all over the Concept Audi TT Sportback.

In a statement, Dambrosio’s new boss praised his past achievements.

“I look forward to him inspiring our teams to shape the next generation of Mitsubishi Design and contributing to rebuild and enhance the Mitsubishi Motors brand as we aim for global growth,” said Kunimoto.

“Alessandro is joining at an exciting time when we are working on concepts for the future of Mitsubishi Motors styling. With his passion and well-developed understanding of brand values, he will be an extremely valuable addition to our design team.”

Let’s hope he breathes some desirability into the brand’s sheetmetal.

[Image: Mitsubishi]