narvselius

http://www.automotorsport.se/tv/?m=17179

Edit: Just wait for the English part, it's some seconds in to the programme...

Ricracing

Bangle is speaking nicely about the Grand Turismo...

But still not a car for me.

m630

very nice video

i do think that Bangle will be missed over time, will be interesting to see where the next-next generation goes

v_therussian

RESPECT! Nice post! And I love that Audi commercial

Hopco

Nice idea - an improvement over the X concept - but I still prefer a wagon/touring.

The GT has a slicker look though.

Ellicit

i like the AE's

bighersh

Bangle's designs, though ripped by the automotive press, resulted in the best selling BMW's in history.

BMW was conservative before Bangle- since he's not the design cheif anymore- I imagine they will go back to playing it safe, and you'll see mild changes to the existing Bangle designs for the next 2 generations. Rounding here, angling there, new headlight/tailight configurations, etc...

That's my guess anyway.

Not sure if Bangle had his hands on the newest 7, but as you can see- they aren't vastly different (From the outsede) than the 2002 - 2009 version.

Krozi

"Asked a lot of customers?"

The customers you asked mustv'e smoked an acre's worth of kush!

darkus

I think bangle was given more credit then he deserves for the designs that have come out of BMW. In the end its the board that approves and disapproves designs for production. They are the ones to decide what direction to go in as well. I think of Bangle more as a 'get it done' kind of person who takes what the board wants and puts it into action, not the other way around.

swajames

I couldn't disagree more! It is indeed the vision of the design chief that sets the direction and tone for the design teams to execute and operationalize. The vision is and was Bangle's, not the BMW board's. While others such as David Arcangeli and Adrian Van Hooydonk played key roles in executing on the designs for specific models, the design language and design philosophy was clearly Bangle's. Bangle had the design chief job since 1992, and more to the point, it is indeed Bangle who is credited with getting an otherwise notoriously conservative BMW board to approve some of the most radical designs seen in recent years. The flame surfacing design language was all his, and frankly he deserves WAY more credit than you're giving him here. He was indeed a true visionary, and more to the point he had the balls to push through designs that BMW would never have considered without him. I can't think of another designer who has had such an influence on the industry in recent years. More to the point, most of his peers felt the same way. About the only notable critic in his peer group was J Mays, design head at Ford. Personally, I don't think J Mays work comes even remotely close to Bangle - in both quality and influence. In that respect, I don't consider Mays to be fit to lace Bangle's boots.