Jason Castriota
{{short description|American automobile designer|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Infobox person
|name = Jason Castriota
|image =
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|birth_name =
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|birth_place = White Plains, New York
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|known_for = Ferrari 599, Maserati GranTurismo, SSC Tuatara, Mustang Mach-E, Ferrari P4/5, Rolls-Royce Hyperion, Ferrari 612 Kappa
|education =
|alma_mater = Art Center
|employer = Gruppo Bertone, Pininfarina, Saab, Ford, Castriota Design Company
|occupation = Car designer, product designer
|years_active = 1997–present
|website = [http://www.castriotadesign.com castriotadesign.com]
|footnotes =
}}
Jason Castriota is an automotive designer.
Biography
Jason Castriota was born in White Plains, New York, and raised in Greenwich, Connecticut. He graduated from Emerson College in Boston and attended but dropped out of the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena.{{cite web|url=http://www.velocetoday.com/people/people_51.php|title=The Pininfarina 612 K|publisher=Veloce Today|accessdate=2007-02-21|date=2007-01-24|last=Pfister|first=Werner}} Castriota began his internship at the Pininfarina design studio, which later turned into full time position in design. Castriota had decided to stay in Turin and he took part in the design of production cars such as the Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano and Maserati GranTurismo,{{Cite web |last=Breen |first=Bill |date=2008 |title=An Oral History of The Design Behind Maserati’s 2008 GranTurismo |url=http://www.fastcompany.com/76776/oral-history-design-behind-maseratis-2008-granturismo |website=Fast Company}} concept cars like the Maserati Birdcage 75th with accepted and approved U.S. patents{{Cite web |last=Patent Design Office |first=United States |date=2007-10-09 |title=United States Design Patent Office: Patent US D552,513 S |url=https://patentimages.storage.googleapis.com/50/a2/e7/d65a35c6d4c296/USD552513S1.pdf |access-date=2007-10-09 |website=United States Design Patent Office: Patent US D552,513 S}} on the design and the Rolls-Royce Hyperion. As Head Designer he continued on for Special Projects, one-off exclusive cars for particular customers, such as the Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina,{{Cite web |last=Migliore |first=Greg |date=2010-06-17 |title=Ferrari P4/5 designer Castriota heads to Saab |url=http://autoweek.com/news/a1999811/ferrari-p45-designer-castriota-heads-saab/ |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=Autoweek |language=en-US}} a restyled Enzo Ferrari for American car collector James Glickenhaus, and the Ferrari 612 Kappa,{{Cite web |title=Ferrari 612 Kappa |url=https://www.carrozzieri-italiani.com/listing/ferrari-612-kappa/ |access-date=2023-01-28 |website=www.carrozzieri-italiani.com |language=en-US}} a restyling of the Ferrari 612 Scaglietti for car collector Peter Kalikow.
Castriota left his position at Pininfarina on the eve of the Paris Motor Show in September 2008, and was set to become Design Director at Stile Bertone.{{cite web |last=Gallina |first=Eric |date=2008-11-27 |title=Who's Where: Jason Castriota joins Stile Bertone |url=http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/designers/whos_where/display/store4/item141896/ |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20081207234644/http://www.cardesignnews.com/site/designers/whos_where/display/store4/item141896/ |archivedate=2008-12-07 |accessdate=2008-11-28 |publisher=Car Design News}} In 2009 he also formed his own design consultancy with offices in New York and Turin; Jason Castriota Design LLC.
In June 2010, Saab Automobile hired Castriota as its new design director.{{cite web|url=http://newsroom.saab.com/news/news/newdesigndirectoratsaabautomobile.5.6a0ed975128ec1d13f17ffe495.html|title=SAAB Newsroom|accessdate=2010-06-19|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20100621143001/http://newsroom.saab.com/news/news/newdesigndirectoratsaabautomobile.5.6a0ed975128ec1d13f17ffe495.html|archivedate=2010-06-21}} In 2014, Castriota joined Skylabs, a small product design firm in New York. In early 2016, he was recruited to work for Ford Motor Company as an Advanced Strategic Design leader in Dearborn, Michigan.{{cite news|last1=Callaway|first1=Sue|title=Ford Finally Is Getting Serious About Design|url=http://fortune.com/2016/02/05/ford-castriota-design/|accessdate=25 March 2018|work=Fortune|date=February 5, 2016}} Castriota moved into a strategy role on Ford's dedicated Electrified Vehicle team – Team Edison. Castriota was one of four directors who were responsible for the overall company’s EV strategy and lead Ford's Battery Electric Global Brand Strategy for all major markets. His latest project, the Mustang Mach-E is one of the fastest selling EVs on the market today.
Castriota is also responsible for designing the SSC Tuatara a sports car made in Washington State.{{cite web|url=http://jalopnik.com/5630025/ssc-ultimate-aero-ii-first-photos-of-americas-bugatti-fighter |title=SSC Ultimate Aero II: First Photos Of America's Bugatti Fighter |publisher=Jalopnik.com |date=2010-09-04 |accessdate=2012-03-11}} Tuatara entered production in 2020, and also set world speed records for the fastest production car on January 27, 2021 hitting a one-way speed of 286.1 mph (460.4 km/h) and a two-way average of 282.9 mph (455.3 km/h) in 2021. the SSC Tuatara hit a verified top speed of 295 mph in just 2 miles of road in May 2022.{{Cite web |last=Moore |first=Alina |date=2022-05-25 |title=2021 – 2022 SSC Tuatara Hits 295 MPH, Becomes World’s Fastest Production Vehicle |url=https://www.topspeed.com/cars/car-news/ssc-tuatara-hits-295-mph-becomes-world-s-fastest-production-vehicle/ |access-date=2023-01-29 |website=TopSpeed |language=en}}
Designs
- Maserati Birdcage 75th (2005)
- Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina (2006)
- Ferrari 612 Kappa (2006)
- Ferrari 599 (2006){{cite web|url=https://www.roadandtrack.com/car-culture/car-design/a32084/ferrari-599-gtb-flying-buttress/|title=How the Ferrari 599 GTB Accidentally Changed Car Design|website=roadandtrack.com|accessdate=13 October 2019}}
- Maserati GranTurismo (2007){{cite web|url=https://www.fastcompany.com/76776/oral-history-design-behind-maseratis-2008-granturismo|title=An Oral History of The Design Behind Maserati's 2008 GranTurismo|website=fastcompany.com|accessdate=13 October 2019}}
- Rolls-Royce Hyperion (2008){{cite web|url=https://www.coachbuild.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=102&Itemid=97|title=Pininfarina Rolls-Royce Hyperion|website=coachbuild.com|accessdate=13 October 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1079400_price-dropped-on-pininfarina-designed-hyperion-rolls-royce|title=Price Dropped On Pininfarina-Designed Hyperion Rolls-Royce|website=motorauthority.com|accessdate=13 October 2019}}
- Bertone Mantide (2009)
- Saab PhoeniX (2011)
- SSC Tuatara (2020)
- Ford Mustang Mach-E (2021){{Cite web |last=Bell |first=Sebastian |date=April 23, 2021 |title=Ford Didn’t Initially Plan To Add A High Performance GT Version To Mach-E’s Lineup |url=https://www.carscoops.com/2021/04/ford-didnt-initially-plan-to-add-a-high-performance-gt-version-to-mach-es-lineup/ |website=Car Scoops}}
File:2006 Ferrari P4-5 by Pininfarina (19631298185).jpg|Ferrari P4/5 by Pininfarina
File:Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano - Flickr - Alexandre Prévot (51) (cropped).jpg|Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano
File:Maserati Gran Turismo V8.jpg|Maserati GranTurismo
File:Stile Bertone Mantide.jpg|Bertone Mantide
File:SSC Tuatara by J.Smith831 - 002.jpg|SSC Tuatara
File:Ford Mustang Mach-E Leonberg 2022 1X7A0434.jpg|Ford Mustang Mach-E