BMW’s design director has admitted he had a tough time when he re-styled the new 7 series in 2001 – a look that led a whole new direction for the company’s vehicles.
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“I had a lot of interesting telephone calls,” said Chris Bangle, “mainly from motoring journalists who did not seem to like the style.
“But I had great top-down backing from within the company and the world is always waiting for a ‘sway of the hip’ and some bold leadership. I know some designers who would chew their fingernails worrying about this, but honestly I was never that concerned.”
He added that BMW cars normally retain their look for two or three generations before undergoing major re-styling. “So, you will not be seeing anything radical for a couple of years at least.”
The German company, Bangle said, had built its brand over the past 10 years with iconic products.
“You look right across the group and you see great cars such as the Mini, Rolls-Royce and the 3 series coupe, you also see great motorbikes, these are all icons.”
The new X6 sports activity vehicle, scheduled to go into production at the company’s factory in North America, has been occupying Bangle’s mind for the past couple of years.
What’s next? “There are some things in the pipeline, obviously, but I think in terms of design there’s a big change evolving in that it is starting to be led by production – you have to think about where a vehicle is going to be built and how flexible the production lines are.”
