(Apr. 19) – Beijing Automotive Group starts to speak Italian. Leonardo Fioravanti, world-renown automobile designer and Chairman of the Italian Association of the Automotive Industry (ANFIA) Car Coachbuilders Group, yesterday has officially joined the Beijing Automotive Group. Fioravanti will assume the role of chief model designer, and will unveil a new design concept for BAIC at the upcoming Beijing International Automotive Exhibition.
The Italian designer, a graduate of the Politecnico di Milano’s mechanical engineering department, joined famed Italian design house and coach builder Pininfarina at 26 years of age, where he eventually headed up its research division, Pininfarina Studi & Ricerche. He personally designed eight Ferrari models, including the Dino, Daytona, 308 GTB and 288 GTO. He also oversaw the construction of Italy’s first 1:1 scale wind tunnel.
Fioravanti, who has over 40 years of experience in the field of car design, also worked at Ferrari, Fiat and Alfa Romeo as deputy general manager, design center chief and director, respectively. In 2009, he was elected Chairman of the Italian Association of the Automotive Industry (ANFIA) Car Coachbuilders Group.
About this new collaboration, BAIC Executive Vice President Gu Lei remarked: “The addition of Mr. Fioravanti to BAIC will bring new life to the development of our own brand.” (Peg)
