Ex-Aston Martin designer Miles Nurnberger’s arrival at Dacia coincided with the unveiling of the new Dacia Jogger and came shortly after a radical transformation plan for the marque was detailed as part of parent company the Renault Group’s Renaulution strategy.
Speaking on an array of topics, including the brand's future designs, concept cars, and the car maker's "wonderful" simplicity, Nurnberger gave Autocar the first clues of what to expect as Dacia embraces its new identity and turns to electrification.
When will we see your influence on Dacia’s cars?
“It’ll be years yet for production cars. The majority of my job is spent worrying about cars coming four years down the line; or even as long as a decade. But I have been able to have some influence on the next big model programs we’ve got coming before that; more about the execution of them rather than conception. Just being able to ‘squeeze the lemon’ on them, really.”
How was the transition from your previous role at Aston Martin?
"Everything’s the same and everything’s different. I feel a bit like an F1 driver who’s moved teams. His job is still basically to turn a steering wheel; and my approach to design hasn’t changed. But the terminologies, and all the interactions I need to have, are so different. Dacia is part of a bigger group, so it makes strategic decisions in a different way than Aston did. I’ve had to understand how the machine works here.
"My first three months were all about understanding the strengths and weaknesses in our design team. I’m happy to say there were more of the former! We’ve got a great foundation, and I’ve been able to strengthen the team, bringing in new heads of Advanced Design and Colour and Materials who both joined us in January."
Will we see a Miles Nurnburger concept car to start a new era?
“You might do. The brand’s gone through incredible evolution. Luca de Meo’s ‘Renaulution’ plan has now given Dacia its own dedicated design team, which it never had before. Our culture is growing; and I’d say that culture, and the concept you’re talking about, is now mine to be guardian of.
"We have a proper brand mindset now. That will quite naturally lead us to progress, and to make new design statements."
How is working with Laurens van den Acker and Gilles Vidal?
"It’s great. Laurens lived at the end of my street when we both lived in California and worked for different parts of Ford Motor Company. Gilles was my boss back at PSA fifteen years ago. Their qualities as designers was definitely an attraction for me, and they’re both people I already knew I could work well alongside."
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Duster and Jogger are already great cars, and seem to focus more on things that folks actually want (value, practicality, even little things such as a dashboard-mounted smartphone holder or those trick roofbars, which no other brand offers) than overpriced tech for the sake of it. Yes they are "functional working tools", but great ones. "Simply clever", to quote another eastern European brand.