Car Design: Bangle Dangles

Chris Bangle, BMW's controversial chief designer, has announced his retirement from the company and indeed the entire auto industry. While this is understandable considering the scarcity of good jobs in the autoverse right now, Bangle is simultaneously one of the most loathed and influential modern car designers.

2007 7 Series

The American born Bangle's "flame surfacing" design had little to do with Burger King but everything to do with unusual curves, angles and lines. His 2002 7 Series was widely panned, as was his 5 Series, but both were sales successes. His 7 Series trunkline in particular can be seen in a whole host of luxury cars included the current Mercedes S-Class.

2004 5 Series

He also was a big influence on the first Rolls-Royce to emerge from BMW ownership, the brutalist moderne Phantom in 2003.

Before he was at BMW he was best known for creating the slashed-sided Fiat Coupe.

Fiat Coupe

Love him or hate him, he pushed car design away from bland look-alikes and into more daring polarizing areas, surely a good thing. My favorite of his BMW tenure is the 6-series - to my eye the best blend of his big shapes and eye catching detailing.

6 Series

Bangle is succeded by Adrian Van Hooydonk who did last year's fantatsic Homage concept and the CS big sedan concept as well as the underwhelming new 7 Series. BMW has taken a turn back to conservatism of late - let's hope they allow Van Hooydonk the same freedom as Bangle enjoyed.

Design: BMW Flashes Their Hot Cloth-Covered GINA -- Six Years Late

By Noah Mallin

So this is what BMW designers come up with when nobody is around. The GINA, just unveiled (if that's the right term) by the Bavarian company, was actually put together six years ago as an advanced design study by Chris Bangle's team. Yes that is high tech cloth subbing for stiff body panels covering GINA's frame. It can be split down the middle of the "hood" to get to the engine (top photo) and the rear spoiler and doors stretch and bunch the fabric at full extension.

The effect, especially in silver, is a bit Zeppelin-like but fascinating all the same. Designers often try to capture the tension of stretched fabric in sheet metal and Bangle simply eliminates the secondary medium. The solution for the taillights is ingeniously simple. Overall this is a brilliantly visionary design, impractical though it may be.