Walter De Silva was appointed to chief stylist at VW in 2007. De Silva originally comes from Alfa-Romeo, and then held the design responsibility of Audi and Seat. Now his designs, for example the new study “Up” show a clear differentiation from the lines introduced by his predecessor, Günak. Günak’s lines gave cars like the Passat, with a deep cut grill more closely resembling a typical Audi front. Even though the style pushed forward by Günak sold very well, there is now a move to a very different line.
The new styling will have affect also on the headlights and rear lamps, which used to be a major feature of the cars from Wolfsburg. How exactly the multifunctional lighting will fit into the considerably smaller frame indicated in the “Up!” is not yet clear.