If the reports linking car designer extraordinaire Jason Castriota to Saab->ke75 pushes through, then you gotta give up for the auto manufacturer; they scored a big coup on this one.

Castriota, the brilliant car designer who licked his chops and fine-tuned his skills while working for some of the most legendary automotive design houses in the world in the form of Stile Bertone->ke2523 and Pininfarina->ke69, has been responsible for some of the most out-of-this-world designs we've ever seen, including the Bertone Mantide->ke3441 and the Ferrari P4/5. Now, Castriota is embarking on yet another challenge as he begins his tenure as the head designer for Saab.

As his first assignment, Castriota will be tasked to come up with a new design for what is expected to be the next-generation Saab 9-3->ke209, a model that the Swedish brand is looking to integrate into a higher market segment where it would compete with a number of market mainstays including the Audi A4->ke1087 and the BMW 3-Series.

Continued after the jump

In an interview with Bloomberg, Castriota was quick to point out the importance of striking gold with the next-generation 9-3, also pointing out that the breath of fresh air Spyker has given Saab will allow it to become a little more aggressive in their design compared to when it was still under the General Motors umbrella.

“It's absolutely vital we get this car right,” he said. “This is Saab returning to its roots, not having to worry about being part of a much larger machine that they were before in the GM organization.”

We don't know much in the way of designing cars from our own hands, but we do know that Jason Castriota has one of the best designing hands in the business and Saab definitely scored big when they decided to make him their head designer. Needless to say, we're now looking forward to the day Castriota's first Saab creation gets to break cover.