car design thread

Like it or not, it's coming.

 

Including Rolls. Interesting.
Better looking BMW's on the horizon?

 

Now, THERE'S an understatement .

 

From Cardesignnews.com


BMW Group is comprehensively overhauling its design division with the BMW brand team split into two studios supported by a newly created CMF department working across all brands

In an extensive shake up spearheaded by design director Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW Group is splitting its brand team into two studios. Former Polestar design director Maximilian Missoni will head up design for upper mid-size and luxury BMW models, including the BMW Alpina range while Oliver Heilmer formerly MINI’s design boss will oversee design for all compact and mid-size BMW models, including the high-performance BMW M line.

In addition, a newly created Colour and Material Design department led by recent hire Claudia Braun will work across BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce underlining the ever more important role of CMF. Braun has been managing colour and materials for the BMW brand since April 2024, bringing experience from Porsche AG, Daimler AG and Volvo Cars.

There are other significant moves, most notably Rolls-Royce design director Anders Warming now helming ‘Advanced Design topics’ and BMW Group Designworks. Warming will be replaced by Domagoj Dukec, formerly head of the BMW Design Studio who will assume responsibility for Rolls-Royce Design, including Bespoke and Coachbuild.

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New signing: Maximilian Missoni

Dukec’s work on BMW’s i Series has been widely praised, and his move to Rolls-Royce reflects the brand’s commitment to pushing the boundaries of luxury design. However, this move calls into question the future Alex Inneswho was head of Coachbuild Design at the British luxury marque.

The shake up confirms rumours that Missoni was poised to sign for BMW. The designer is known for hisminimalist, future-forward approach, which garnered him significant praise not to mention awards during his tenure at Polestar. Missoni’s addition to BMW’s team underscores the brand’s focus on innovative and sustainable luxury design. His expertise will be needed as BMW looks to refine its high-end offerings while integrating more sustainable and digital elements.

Meanwhile, Heilmer’s track record of innovative design at MINI, as previously covered by Car Design News, positions him as a strong fit for this expanded role in the smaller segments of BMW’s product portfolio.

In this reorganisation, BMW is clearly doubling down on its “electric, digital, circular” philosophy, though it is not the first time van Hooydonk has overhauled his teams.

“Technology and customer preferences are currently changing faster than ever,” says van Hooydonk. “Automotive design has become more diverse. Designing digital experiences and sound also plays an increasingly important role, along with sustainable and recycled materials.

“The design showcases all the innovative potential of our products and brands,” van Hooydonk continues. “That’s why, more than ever, every single detail matters, as well as the holistic and harmonious integration of the various elements.”

“I am delighted to continue driving the design and development of our vehicles and brands forward with a first-class team of highly qualified design professionals,” said van Hooydonk.

Personnel changes in full

Maximilian Missoni will oversee the design of upper mid-size and luxury class BMW models and BMW Alpina.

Oliver Heilmer will be responsible for the design of all compact and mid-size BMW models as well as BMW M.

Claudia Braun will head the newly created cross-brand department for Colour and Material Design for BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce.

Domagoj Dukec will now assume responsibility for Rolls-Royce Design, including Bespoke and Coachbuild.

Anders Warming will oversee all Advanced Design topics and BMW Group Designworks.

Holger Hampf, head of BMW Group Designworks, will now be in charge of design for the MINI brand.

Christian Bauer will continue to lead the digital customer experience across all brands.

 

More BMW news
BMW Is Shaking Up Its Design Team
Design boss Domagoj Dukec moves to Rolls-Royce.
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Sep 13, 2024 at 8:00am ET
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By: Adrian Padeanu


Major changes are happening across the BMW Group design teams beginning October 1. Adrian van Hooydonk is still the big boss, but future BMWs will no longer be penned by Domagoj Dukec. The Frankfurt-born Croat who once said that a "good design is not about pretty or ugly" has led the design team at the core brand since April 2019. He is now moving to Rolls-Royce where he will take on the same role.

Future BMWs will be designed by two people. The models in the upper mid-size and luxury class will be the responsibility of Maximilian Missoni. He's the former man in charge of design at Polestar. After spending six years at Volvo's spinoff brand, he's been tasked to draw BMW's biggest vehicles as well as the upcoming BMW Alpina-badged models. As a refresher, the BMW Group acquired the Buchloe-based niche automaker in March 2022.

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The compact to mid-size cars will be styled by Oliver Heilmer, the design boss at Mini since 2017. In addition, his team will also be responsible for how M cars will look. In his place at the helm of Mini's design department will be Holger Hampf, the former head of the Designworks division. Going forward, Rolls-Royce's ex-design chief Anders Warming will lead Designworks as well as "Advanced Design topics."

Elsewhere, BMW has appointed Claudia Braun as the leader of a new cross-brand department for Color and Material Design for BMW, Mini, and Rolls-Royce. Christian Bauer remains the leader of the digital customer experience.

It would be easy for us to jump to conclusions about why BMW is shaking up its design team. If you follow the company on social media, you're aware of the mostly negative comments about how the cars look. However, sales figures tell a different story; BMW had a record-breaking 2023 after delivering 2,252,793 cars.

Could that number have been even higher without such polarizing designs? I guess we'll never know the answer. The fact of the matter is BMW is doing better than ever if we're strictly talking about sales. It also helps that the Bavarian marque has a vast portfolio of models with a rich mix of combustion cars, plug-in hybrids, and EVs to cover the entire premium segment.

Although BMW's days of being "the ultimate driving machine" might be over, it still sells performance cars with a manual gearbox. Not only that but it just resurrected the M5 Touring and is bringing it to America, making it the first M wagon sold in the United States. In other markets, there's also a smaller M3 Touring. The Z4 roadster is still around, now with a stick shift for the M40i.

But the sad reality of 2024 is that BMW's commercial success isn't attributed to cars that excite traditionalists. Crossovers and SUVs do the heavy lifting, and the Munich-based marque has plenty of those. As small as the X1 and as big as the X7, with the XM serving as the ugly duckling.

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Although BMW interiors are now dominated by huge screens that have swallowed most physical controls, people don't seem to have a problem with that. Even the signature iDrive controller is starting to disappear but that's not stopping people from buying X1s. The fact that prices have gone up substantially in recent years hasn't hampered demand either.

It goes to show we are not BMW's target market anymore. By "we," I mean people lusting for the days of the E46, E39, or other internal codenames that first spring to mind. Although the latest designs work from a business perspective given the strong sales, the Germans are preparing to shake things up. The Neue Klasse concepts have strongly suggested fresh styling is planned.

The design of these new EVs has likely been finalized already. Don't expect the newly appointed people to influence the appearance of next year's iX3 crossover or the i3 sedan coming in 2026. A car's design is locked in several years ahead of the official debut, so these new teams will likely leave their mark on vehicles scheduled to be launched around the end of the decade.



From Motor1.com

 

Can't leave the 'Parthenon look'

 

Exactly

 

Nice, I think it’s a rendering of a design idea.

 

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Well, I was wrong on this one. They did indeed build it.
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https://www.cardesigntv.com/ds-automobiles-citroen-sm-tribute/

DS Automobiles: CITROËN SM TRIBUTE
admin September 16, 2024 0
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A narrative between DS Automobiles and its community

“We are working on the genes of our iconic models to fuel our research into the shape of future models that will come along at the end of the decade,” confides Thierry Metroz, DS Automobiles Design Director. “What we’re sharing, which dates from 2020, and our presence in Chantilly with SM TRIBUTE bear witness to this activity and our research on the subject.”

In the spring of 2020, DS Automobiles actually shared a series of sketches called #SM2020 on its social networks. These drawings were the result of an internal creative competition between the designers of DS DESIGN STUDIO PARIS about a reinterpretation of the majestic SM introduced in 1970.

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“Our community sent us several strong messages during this sketch sharing,” recalls Thierry Metroz. “The first was that it was very attached to the iconic models from our heritage. The second was that it didn’t want the original design to be spoilt.”

The DS DESIGN STUDIO PARIS team works regularly on the legacy of the historic DS and SM, through sketches that unleash their creativity and fuel their thinking.

“We wanted to go further,” says Thierry Metroz. “We want to nurture our legacy through our icons which are the DS and SM. We draw our commitment to avant-garde design from it.”

More than just a tribute, SM TRIBUTE celebrates ten years of art and elegance since the creation of DS Automobiles and its participation in the first Chantilly Arts & Elegance, while contributing to future-oriented research by DS DESIGN STUDIO PARIS.

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A tribute to the SM and a very current design study

The message conveyed by the DS Automobiles community has been listened to. The DS DESIGN STUDIO PARIS team worked as if SM had continued to develop over the past five decades.

The SM, born at the beginning of the 1970s, embodied the pinnacle of French automotive innovation. This grand tourer was a real concentration of technology. Its aerodynamic styling, designed by Robert Opron, was both elegant and avant-garde. Beneath the bonnet, a powerful V6 offered exceptional on-road performance. But what really made the SM a remarkable car was its hydropneumatic suspension, inherited from the DS, which gave it unrivalled driving comfort and exemplary road holding. The SM remains a cult model today, sought after by collectors around the world. Its unique blend of comfort, performance and innovation makes it a true automotive legend.

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If the SM has made an impression, it is also thanks to its luxurious and meticulous interior. The high-quality materials, the precision build and the calculated ergonomics created an especially refined atmosphere inside. The dashboard, with its circular instruments and distinctive steering wheel, was both functional and aesthetic. The SM was also very well equipped for the time, including air conditioning and power-assisted steering. In addition to its dynamic character, the SM was a car capable of offering first-class comfort to its occupants.

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Frédéric Soubirou, DS Automobiles Head of Exterior Design, says: “We were inspired by studying several SM models, including prototypes and the two presidential SMs. They had a striking trait, like a signature. They gave the impression of flying on the road, they were very aerial.”

This lightness, suggesting dynamism and efficiency, is reflected in the slender yet muscular silhouette of SM TRIBUTE. The direct relationship is characterised strongly with an iconic front end and a profile dominated by a long bonnet…

“We added some very current symbols of our work to it,” continues Frédéric Soubirou.

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The extended bi-tone look was worked around a reinterpretation of the Gold Leaf colour that was in the brochure in 1971, featuring a satin varnish worked with a handmade patina and combined with a specially coloured black.

“We wanted to build bridges between different eras: the 1930s, when the prestigious French brands showcased two-tone bodywork in concours d’elegance, the automotive icon of the 1970s that is the SM and our current designs with finishes such as the extended bi-tone paint, seen on the DS AERO SPORT LOUNGE concept. This treatment has really become a hallmark of DS Automobiles designs,” says Vincent Lobry, Head of Colour, Materials and Finishes (CMF) Design at DS Automobiles.

The SM did not have an obvious upper grille, which was replaced by a very large glass section that revealed the headlamp modules and registration plate. Fifty years on, this glass section becomes a 3D screen that lights up to its middle, framed by a light signature made up of three modules on each side – as in the past – enhanced by eight diamond-tipped and vertical DRLs based on a triad shape meeting at a point like a ship’s bow.

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The profile retains the characteristic lines of the SM following the airflow from the front to the narrower rear. Behind two large windows, the rear quarter panel is cut in half and goes on to make the rear part float in an S shape. Naturally, the rear wheels are partially faired with removable parts.

While the iconic proportions of the SM are maintained with a length at 4.94 m (+ 3 cm) and height at 1.34 m (+ 2 cm), SM TRIBUTE gains primarily in muscularity and presence with a 1.98 m width (+ 14 cm). In search of efficiency, ground clearance changes to 12 centimetres (-3.5 cm). SM TRIBUTE sits on large 22-inch wheels embellished with aerodynamic inserts.

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The interior also continues the language of the 1970 SM

Inside, the 1970 design has also been reinterpreted with the characteristic shape of the top of the dashboard and even the oval design of the instruments. True to the avant-garde soul of the SM, the information display is through projection and the curved “screen console”, connected to the steer-by-wire steering wheel, complete this spirit that’s dear to the brand. Sound and lights envelop the occupants.

The interior is very light with an ivory colour made up of leather and Alcantara®. A large display case on the front of the dashboard provides an extraordinary setting to accommodate an almost infinite range of finishes and materials! The seats continue the iconic upholstery of the SM, with its horizontal cushions.

“The design of the top of the dashboard was a strong signature with an implicit crossover,” says Luc Quirin, DS Automobiles Interior Designer: “We have kept this identity-based approach by including the results of our research. The display is by projection, without a screen. The setting is more immersive while being less restrictive for the driver and occupants.”

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“The laser-engraved leatherwork on the door panels conjures up patterns inspired by the decorative arts. This trend was born in the same years as the concours d’elegance. The pearl trim alludes to current models,” adds Vincent Lobry, DS Automobiles Head of CMF Design.

“It’s not just a portrayal of the SM,” concludes Thierry Metroz. “The DS DESIGN STUDIO PARIS team had fun with an ambitious project. We have respected the original design through its spirit and details. We have done a transcript and reinterpretation of the SM. But as it is not our habit to disconnect from our other work, we have included a lot of details about what DS Automobiles models and our future projects are.”

SM TRIBUTE at Chantilly Arts et Élégance

A partner of Chantilly Arts & Elegance from its beginning in 2014, DS Automobiles is introducing SM TRIBUTE on the tenth anniversary of the concours held in the French gardens of the Château de Chantilly.

Positioned in a 120 m2 setting alongside an original SM, SM TRIBUTE will take part in the Concours d’Elegance on 15 September. DS Automobiles is already on the list of winners of the most prized competition in France with DS E-TENSE in 2016.

At the previous event, DS E-TENSE PERFORMANCE won the Innovation Prize and several models from DS Automobiles’ past have also won the Concours d’État over the years, including the SM MYLORD (two trophies) and DS 19 LA CROISETTE (one trophy).

For this year, SM TRIBUTE will be accompanied by a wide range of SMs on show in the collectors’ village. Visitors will be able to see or rediscover a four-door SM OPERA, an SM MYLORD cabriolet, a racing SM entered in the 1974 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, an SM PROTO already seen at the 2023 Rétromobile and other SMs in different colours from the Euro SM Club, thanks to l’Aventure DS.

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And an additional plug for the Coolest. Car. Ever.

The Lancia Stratos Zero: A Monumental Departure
admin August 20, 2024 0

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The Lancia Stratos Zero, a creation of Bertone’s design maestro Marcello Gandini, stands as a monolithic testament to the design ethos of the late 1960s. Unveiled at the 1970 Turin Motor Show, it was a shock to the automotive world, a radical departure from established norms.

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The Stratos Zero was more than a concept car; it was a manifesto. Its silhouette was an exaggerated wedge, a form so extreme it defied conventional automotive proportions. The car was barely 33 inches tall, a figure that defied imagination at the time. This radical stance was a direct response to the aerodynamic imperatives of the era, a pursuit of the ultimate low drag coefficient.

Gandini’s design was not merely an exercise in form; it was a functional expression of the era’s technological aspirations. The Stratos Zero was a testbed for innovative engineering solutions. Its chassis, derived from a Lancia Fulvia, was modified to accommodate the car’s extreme proportions. The suspension, steering, and braking systems were engineered to handle the demands of such a low, wide vehicle.

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Radical Interior Design
The interior was equally radical. The driver entered through a canopy-like door that lifted upwards, revealing a minimalist cockpit. The instrumentation was ahead of its time, with a focus on digital displays and ergonomic controls. The steering wheel was retractable to facilitate ingress and egress.

While the Stratos Zero remained a one-off concept, its influence on automotive design is undeniable. It pushed the boundaries of what was possible, inspiring designers to explore new forms and functions. The wedge shape, once a radical experiment, became a ubiquitous motif in the automotive landscape.

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The Stratos Zero was more than just a car; it was a statement of intent. It signaled the arrival of a new era in automotive design, an era characterized by experimentation, innovation, and a relentless pursuit of the extraordinary.

The Lancia Stratos Zero was not merely a design exercise; it was a technical marvel. Its extreme proportions and innovative approach to packaging presented engineers with unprecedented challenges.

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A Groundbreaking Chassis
The Stratos Zero’s chassis was a testament to the ingenuity of its creators. Based on a shortened Lancia Fulvia platform, it underwent extensive modifications to accommodate the car’s radical dimensions. The wheelbase was shortened, and the track widened to provide a stable and planted stance. The suspension system was completely overhauled to cope with the car’s low center of gravity and wide stance.

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One of the most significant challenges was integrating the steering and suspension components within the limited space available. Engineers had to develop innovative solutions to ensure precise handling and responsive steering while maintaining a low profile.

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Aerodynamics: A Science of Extremes
The Stratos Zero’s wedge shape was not merely an aesthetic choice; it was a calculated aerodynamic strategy. The car’s flat underbody and carefully sculpted surfaces minimized drag, while the front and rear spoilers generated downforce. The pop-up headlights, a signature design element, contributed to the car’s aerodynamic efficiency when retracted.

Wind tunnel testing was crucial in refining the Stratos Zero’s shape. Engineers meticulously analyzed airflow patterns to identify areas for improvement and optimize the car’s performance. The result was a vehicle that not only looked dramatic but also cut through the air with remarkable efficiency.

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Materials and Construction: Pushing the Boundaries
The Stratos Zero was a showcase of innovative materials and construction techniques. To achieve the car’s extreme proportions and low weight, engineers experimented with a variety of materials. While the specific composition of the body panels remains somewhat shrouded in mystery, it is believed that a combination of aluminum and fiberglass was used.

The car’s chassis was likely constructed using steel, a material that offered the necessary strength and rigidity. However, to offset the weight of the steel chassis, engineers employed lightweight components throughout the vehicle. The use of thin-gauge steel, aluminum, and composite materials helped to keep the overall weight in check.

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A Visionary Interior
The Stratos Zero’s interior was as radical as its exterior. The minimalist design focused on functionality and driver ergonomics. The use of advanced materials and innovative construction techniques created a futuristic atmosphere. The instrument panel was likely dominated by a single, large instrument cluster, perhaps incorporating early forms of digital display technology.

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The seating position was low and reclined, emphasizing the driver-oriented nature of the car. The steering wheel was probably telescopic and adjustable to accommodate drivers of different sizes. The overall layout aimed to create a sense of unity between the driver and the car, enhancing the driving experience.

While the Stratos Zero remains a one-off concept, its influence on automotive design is undeniable. It pushed the boundaries of what was possible, inspiring generations of designers and engineers to strive for greater innovation and creativity.

 

From Cardesignnews is the new Lotus
Lotus has revealed a high-performance concept, the Theory 1, which will serve as a manifesto for future models

Anglo-Chinese brand Lotus has unveiled a high-performance concept, which will serve as a design manifesto for future cars. Car Design News got a sneak peak at the concept at an offsite location and can confirm the pictures do not convey the complexity of the project. Full story to follow on CDN.

Called the Theory 1, it is a sophisticated conglomeration of digital technology, driver-focused human centric design and performance engineering.There are nods to the Esprit beltline in what design boss Ben Payne refers of as a technology line that divides the analogue lower half of the car from the tech-infused upper.

To that end, the team has brought in innovative external suppliers from the realms of lighting, sound and materials while harnessing the in-house engineering expertise that has made Lotus famous.
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1/11

SHOW CAPTION
“We are celebrating the analog engineering, the lifeblood of the company, and then adding this technical aspect,” says Payne. There is a reticence about moving towards electrification and losing the more visceral nature to performance vehicles. It’s a very important that with our design language that we celebrate the analogue, and that extends to the HMI as well. We’re bringing the best of both worlds together in terms of the physical and the digital.”

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One of the best car events of the summer in SE Michigan.
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