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Giorgetto Giugiaro sells remaining shares in design company to Audi

Famous automotive designer Giorgetto Giugiaro has left the company that he founded, selling his remaining stake to Audi.


ItalDesign Giugiaro announced overnight that Giorgetto Giugiaro (above) had left his post as honorary president of the company he founded in 1968 "to dedicate more time to his passions and personal interests".

According to Automotive News, Giorgetto and his son Fabrizio resigned their board seats on Monday, after the father and son had sold their remaining 9.9 percent to Audi the day before.


Above: 1978 Lancia Megagamma concept.

Giorgetto sold a 90.1 percent stake in his design firm to Audi back in 2010. ItalDesign says that 200 new employees have joined it since Audi purchased a majority stake. The company claims that it has plans to add 50 new people before the end of the year.

During his time at the helm of the design firm, Giugiaro designed many cars that would change the course of automotive history, including the original Volkswagen Golf, Fiat Panda and the Lancia Megagamma concept.

His creations spanned the range from highly affordable (the original versions of the Fiat Uno, Daewoo Matiz and Hyundai Excel) through to the exclusive (BMW M1, DeLorean DMC-12 and a broad selection of Maseratis, such as the 3200GT, Ghibli and Bora).


Above: BMW M1.

Other notable cars on his resume include the first-generation Lexus GS, Volkswagen Passat, Subaru SVX and Lotus Esprit. More recent designs include the Alfa Romeo 159, the third-generation Ssangyong Korando and the Suzuki SX4/Fiat Sedici twins.

In addition to automobile design, he has played an important role with a plethora of Nikon DSLR cameras, guns, motorcycles and trains.

Unlike competitors, such as Pininfarina, ItalDesign never dabbled in automobile production, leaving that task entirely with manufacturers.

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