Ermanno Cressoni was an Italian car designer who worked for both Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo

Alfa Romeo Automobiles S.p.A. is an Italian manufacturer of cars. Founded as A.L.F.A. on June 24, 1910, in Milan, the company has been involved in car racing since 1911, and has a reputation for building expensive sports cars...

 and Fiat

Fiat

FIAT, an acronym for Fabbrica Italiana Automobili Torino , is an Italian automobile manufacturer, engine manufacturer, financial, and industrial group based in Turin in the Italian region of Piedmont. Fiat was founded in 1899 by a group of investors including Giovanni Agnelli...

 during his career. He designed or directed the design of a number of significant cars such as the Alfa Romeo 75

Alfa Romeo 75

The Alfa Romeo 75, sold in North America as the Milano, was a compact sports saloon / compact executive car produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo between 1985 and 1992...

 and the Fiat Coupe

Fiat Coupé

The Fiat Coupé was a coupé produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1993 and 2000. The car was introduced at Brussels Motor Show in 1993....

. He was often referrered to as 'Arch'. He died in Milan

Milan

Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...

, Italy

Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...

 in June 2005 after battling cancer for over a year.

Career

Cressoni was director of Alfa Romeo Centro Stile where he designed and oversaw a wide range of cars including the Alfa Romeo Alfetta

Alfa Romeo Alfetta

Alfa Romeo GTV redirects here. For 916 series GTV see Alfa Romeo GTV & SpiderThe Alfa Romeo Alfetta is an Italian rear-wheel drive executive saloon car and fastback coupé produced from 1972 until 1987 by Alfa Romeo...

 saloon (1972), and from the late 1970s his 'La Linea' sharp edged designs featured in the Giulietta (1977), Alfa 33

Alfa Romeo 33

The Alfa Romeo 33 is a small family car produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo between 1983 and 1995. It was essentially an evolution of its predecessor, the Alfasud, which was based on the same floorplan, chassis and mechanicals albeit with some minor modifications...

 (1983) and Alfa 75

Alfa Romeo 75

The Alfa Romeo 75, sold in North America as the Milano, was a compact sports saloon / compact executive car produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo between 1985 and 1992...

 (1985). In 1985, Cressoni patented a design for a centre console that featured extra storage space as a result of a U-shaped hand brake

Hand brake

In cars, the hand brake is a latching brake usually used to keep the car stationary, and in manual transmission vehicles, as an aid to starting the vehicle from stopped when going up an incline - with one foot on the clutch , the other on the accelerator In cars, the hand brake (emergency brake,...

 and was awarded a US patent (number 4,818,008) in 1989.

After Fiat acquired Alfa Romeo in 1986, he became director of Fiat Centro Stile where he directed the team that produced Fiat Cinquecento

Fiat Cinquecento

The Fiat Cinquecento was a city car designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro launched by Fiat in late 1991 to replace the Fiat 126. It was the first Fiat model to be solely manufactured in the FSM plant in Tychy, Poland, which had been sold to Fiat by the Polish state, and where production of the Polish...

 (1991), Fiat Coupe

Fiat Coupé

The Fiat Coupé was a coupé produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat between 1993 and 2000. The car was introduced at Brussels Motor Show in 1993....

 (1993), Alfa Romeo 145

Alfa Romeo 145

The Alfa Romeo 145 and 146 are small family cars produced by the Italian automaker Alfa Romeo between 1994 and 2001. They were launched at the 1994 Turin Motor Show...

 (1994), Fiat Barchetta

Fiat Barchetta

The Fiat Barchetta is a roadster produced by the Italian manufacturer Fiat from 1995 to 2005 . "Barchetta" in Italian means 'little boat'.-History:...

 (1995) and Fiat Bravo (1995). Many of his staff from Alfa Romeo and Fiat Centro Stile became influential designers in their own right including Chris Bangle

Chris Bangle

Christopher Edward "Chris" Bangle is an American automobile designer. Bangle is known best for his work as Chief of Design for BMW Group, where he was responsible for the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce motor cars.- Biography :...

, Walter de'Silva

Walter de'Silva

Walter Maria de'Silva is an Italian car designer who is currently Head of Volkswagen Group Design, and is currently responsible for oversight on the design of all Volkswagen Group passenger car brands including Audi, Volkswagen, SEAT, Škoda as well as Bentley, Lamborghini and Bugatti...

 and Andreas Zapatinas

Andreas Zapatinas

Andreas Zapatinas is a Greek automobile designer, born in Athens in 1957.Zapatinas studied at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, and graduated in 1986. He worked at Fiat Centro Stile from 1988 until 1994, where he met Chris Bangle. He was chief exterior designer of the Fiat...

.