By Chris Haak
02.03.2009
Chris Bangle, head of BMW’s design and the man singly most responsible for BMW’s current design language, is leaving BMW “to pursue his own design-related endeavors beyond the auto industry,” according to BMW.
Dutchman Adrian van Hooydonk, the BMW brand design head, will become Bangle’s successor. Both men had been with the carmaker since 1992, but Bangle is 52 years old, while van Hooydonk is 44 years old. Ironically, while the head of design’s name is usually attached to an automaker’s lineup, Bangle’s successor, van Hooydonk, was the actual designer of the 2007 7-series that started the Bangle butt/flame surfacing revolution. In the photo to the left, van Hooydonk is on the left with his arms folded, and Bangle is on the right making quotation fingers.
Love or hate his designs – personally, most of them eventually grew on me – there is no argument over the influence that Chris Bangle-led BMW design has had on the automotive industry. His 2002 7-series sedan and 2007 Z4 roadster were both shots fired across the bow of the luxury-car establishment that emphatically noted the presence of a new design direction at BMW. While the 2002-2009 Z4 has a more radical design than does the flagship 7-series luxury sedan, the 7-series aroused far more controversy in the automotive world when it made its debut because of the conservative shape of its predecessor. Bangle basically threw out the entire BMW design rule book with the exception of quad headlamps, the twin-kidney grille, and the Hoffmeister kink in the C-pillar. Everything else was fair game; no longer would various BMW models look like different sizes of basically the same car. Continue Reading →
Last week’s news that Chris Bangle is leaving BMW to pursue a design career outside the auto industry once again raised the debate about whether his one-of-a-kind styling influence has helped or hindered the prospects of the German company.
