Adrian Van Hooydonk talks about the 1 Series Coupe Design

04 Sep

Posted by Horatiu B. as 1-series

Months after the official launch of BMW’s 1 Series Coupe, the Design Chief Adrian Van Hooydonk talks about the design of the 135i Coupe. As I have said before many times, I am really fascinated about the stories and reasoning behind BMW’s choices when it comes to their design.

Of course, the video below doesn’t match the amazing article we posted on the behind the 7 series design, but it is still quite fascinating. I really wish BMW will do more of these type of videos or show us the full design process that usually lasts 7 years.

[Source: BMW-web.tv ]

7 Responses

plien69

September 4th, 2008 at 10:21 pm
1

This video was posted on bmwusa.com’s 1-series mini-site back in February.
Horatiu B.

September 5th, 2008 at 12:33 am
2

@plien69: You’re right and we might have posted it before But let’s just say it’s a refresher and it came into my mind after reviewing again the BMW 7 Series Behind the Scene article
George

September 5th, 2008 at 2:21 am
3

The guy should should work for Toyota or Hyundai.
BMW Design

September 5th, 2008 at 9:28 am
4

[...] [Linked: BMW Blog] [...]
Horatiu B.

September 5th, 2008 at 2:35 pm
5

@George: Why is that? Bad designer? I think he’s done a good job. Everyone is bashing Chris Bangle though.
George

September 6th, 2008 at 4:32 am
6

@Horatiu:The current 3 series sedan was his design, the 1 series and the long expected 7 series. He made the 3 series sedan look like a Japanese Car ie. look at Nissan Primera rear. The 1 series coupe could have had much better tail lights and a more agressive look. The 1 series cabrio is one of the most “feminine” cars I have ever seen. Finally, the 7 series has a Lexus rear, and the tail lights on the side are too big!Also the front grill is too big. People criticize Bangle all the time but it is really the Dutch that has come up with the most ambiguous and contradicting designs. Bangle has a different role in the design department than he used to. So why is BMW selling? Maybe because BMW has one of the most loyal customer bases and because people like the way bimmers ride!
Horatiu B.

September 6th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
7

@George: Bangle is still the Head Chief Designer, he still has a saying and he can approve or not the design. I do agree that the 1 Series could have been designed a little better, but they did a decent job for the first generation.

The current 3 is a beautiful car, as much as people bashed it and cried after the E46, the E9x 3ers are quite stunning(coupe especially).

As far as the 7 Series, I still need to see the car in person, I can’t really form an opinion yet.