An ex-Aston Martin designer discusses his new job after 14 Years at Gaydon.
Most of you, your friends, and readers, don’t even know what Dacia actually is. It is a Romanian-based company that was established in 1966. The local government sold it to Renault in 1999. Dacia became Europe’s most affordable car brand quickly after the French company arrived. The marque offers a variety of sedans, SUVs, and hatchbacks as well as the most affordable electric vehicle on the Old continent. The Dacia’s new design boss is one of its latest additions.
After more than 14 years with Aston Martin, Miles Nurnberger joined this Romanian company last year. He was responsible for designing the Valkyrie and DBX, which were two of the most notable vehicles by the British firm in recent years. What was Nurnberger’s motivation to move from an expensive automaker to a budget-brand brand? An interview with TopGear sheds light on Nurnberger’s philosophy. Laurens van denAcker is Renault Group’s chief design officer. Nurnberger reports to him. Both were working at Ford in the 2000s and have a long history. Acker called Nurnberger to offer his services and he said it “quite quickly”. Nurnberger has become a big fan of Dacia’s products just a few months into his new job. The Duster is, in his view, the company’s most important pillar.
He told the British publication, “This will make a great sentence. The Duster is Dacia’s 911.” The Duster embodies everything that Dacia has to offer: the spirit, attainability, robustness, and all of it is amplified by the Duster. It’s a pleasure to design for the masses. You see cars being used, and maybe you will own one. This was evidently more difficult at Aston. The Dacia Duster is a sport utility vehicle. It was last updated and got a dual-clutch transmission. The Duster is a practical, reliable, and simple car that can be driven on either liquefied petroleum gases (LPG) or an optional all-wheel drive. It’s just like the 911.