Ralph Gilles

Ralph Gilles is a director of design for Stellantis N.V. and is fast building an impressive list of credits to his vitae that include: lead interior design of the Dodge Viper GTS/R, Dodge ESX2 and Jeep Jeepster concept vehicles and production versions of the 2003 Dodge Viper and 2002 Jeep Liberty. Currently, Gilles is the director of the Dodge Magnum, M80 concepts and the new Chrysler 300C.

If you had asked Ralph Gilles 15 years ago what he wanted to do with his life, he would have probably told you he’d “get back to you on that one.” Fast forward 25 years later and ask the same question, and Gilles would tell you that he’s living out his dream, doing exactly what he believes he was meant to do – designing cars and trucks.

A college dropout after not quite one semester of freshman engineering, Gilles had no idea that his childhood hobby of sketching cars would soon lead him down the path to become one of the nation’s top young automotive designers. The one-time college dropout received his Bachelor of Science degree in 1992 from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit and an MBA from Michigan State University.

As of 2003, he was responsible for 30 designers on a variety of vehicle concept and production programs. When he isn’t hard at work in the design studio, or on the race track testing one of his designs, he’s spending time with his wife Doris and their two children.