Chris Bangle

Christopher Edward Bangle ( born October 14, 1956 in Ravenna, Ohio) is an American product designer who is mainly known for his work in the field of automotive design.

Life

From 1975 to 1977 Bangle studied Fine Arts at the University of Wisconsin. This was followed by training as a car designer at the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, USA.

In 1981, he joined at the age of 25 years as interior designers at Adam Opel AG in Rüsselsheim his first job in Europe to 1983 and was deputy head of the interior design studios. In 1985, he joined the Fiat " Centro Stile ". There he was appointed in 1992 as Director of the design studio. The end of 1992, the then Chief Development Officer Wolfgang Reitzle overtook him as head of design at BMW.

Chris Bangle won in 2007 as head of the Design Team BMW Group the red dot design award: design team of the year. Interesting is his " GINA vision " called outlook for the future of the automobile: Automobiles without body outer skin that are flexible and can be individualized in addition problems.

On February 3, 2009 BMW announced that Bangle over the management of BMW Group Design on March 1, 2009 Adrian van Hooydonk and Bangle is leaving the company. Van Hooydonk was since 2004 Bangle director of brand design studio for BMW automobiles and is the designer who actually has 7 Series ( E65 ) and 6 ( E63/64 ) designed model series, the controversy when introduced into the media and especially Chris Bangle were attributed.

Designs and works

Under the leadership of Chris Bangle following automobiles emerged:

• Fiat Coupé ( interior designed by Pininfarina )
• BMW Z3 ( E36, 1996-2002)
• BMW 7 Series ( E38, 1994-2001)
• BMW 3 Series ( E46, 1998-2005)
• Rover 75 ( R40, from 1998-2005)
• BMW X5 ( E53, 1999-2006)
• BMW 7 Series ( E65/66/67/68, 2001-2008 )
• MINI ( R50/52/53, 2001-2006)
• Range Rover ( L30, from 2002)
• BMW Z4 ( E85/86, 2003-2008)
• Rolls- Royce Phantom ( RR01, from 2003)
• BMW X3 ( E83, from 2003)
• BMW 5-series ( E60/61, from 2004)
• BMW 6 Series ( E63/64, from 2004)
• BMW 1 Series ( E81/82/87/88, from 2004)
• BMW 3 Series ( E90/91/92/93, from 2005)
• BMW X5 (E70, from 2006)
• MINI ( R55/56/57, from 2006)
• Rolls- Royce Phantom Drophead Coupé ( RR2, from 2007)
• BMW X6 (E71, from 2008)
• Rolls- Royce Phantom Coupé ( RR3, from 2008)
• BMW 7 Series ( F01/02, from 2008)
• BMW Z4 ( E89, from 2009)
• BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo ( F07, from 2009)

Design studies and concept cars:

• Opel Junior ( small car study in 1983 by Opel )
• MINI ACV 30 ( 1997 design study for the new MINI )
• BMW Z9 gran turismo (1999, Design study for future BMW 6 )
• BMW Z9 Convertible (2000, Design study for future BMW 6 Series Convertible )
• BMW X Coupe (2001, study for the design language of future BMW Z4 )
• BMW CS1 (2002, Design Study for later BMW 1 Series )
• BMW xActivity (2003, Design study for future BMW X3)
• MINI Concept Frankfurt (2005, Design Study for MINI Clubman )
• MINI Concept Detroit (2006, Design Study for MINI Clubman )
• Rolls- Royce 101EX (2006, Design Study for Rolls- Royce Phantom Coupé)
• MINI Concept Geneva (2006, Design Study for MINI Clubman )
• BMW Concept Coupe Mille Miglia (2006, technology study and tribute to the BMW 328 Mille Miglia, 1936)
• BMW Concept CS (2007, Design study for a luxury travel Coupe / Gran Turismo )
• BMW M1 Hommage (2008, study design / homage to the 30th anniversary of the BMW M1)
• BMW Concept X1 ( 2008, Design Study on the BMW X1)
• BMW Concept Gran Turismo 5 (2009, Design Study for BMW 5 Series Gran Turismo (ex Progressive Activity Sedan) )
• BMW Gina Light Visionary Concept (2008, Geometry and Function in N Adaptions )

Criticism

Since joining BMW in 1992, Chris Bangle is known to be extremely controversially discussed automobile designer. Customers and employees of BMW criticize his work often exaggerated Futurism and accuse him of lack of harmony of his designs. In particular, many of the he designed rear views were met with broad rejection.

Above all, presented in 2001 BMW 7 Series model (model E65/66 ) was generally negatively received, especially because of the " rump " on the stern. As a result, came expressions like Bangleheck, Banglekofferraum, Bangle butt and Bangledesign to winged words and stood as synonyms for bad design. On the Internet, there was even a petition to stop Bangle. Scoffers translated "BMW" already " Bangle must go".

Bangle itself explains the " Bangleheck " in retrospect the fact that as a result of new crash test requirements, the front of the cars had to be significantly higher designed as usual to date, so that the designers at BMW revealed the problem that the rear of the car adjusted accordingly had to be. The additional optical lid on the actual trunk lid had been present the most obvious solution to this design problem that he knew even then that it would just have to solve the competition. At the same time Bangle admits that at that time criticized BMW design solutions have been been radical, but at the same time frequently copied in the temporal sequence.

Overlooked is also in this context that the chief designer must provide the Board several variants in the form of clay models to choose from and the Board then decides on a model. In the case of E65/66 the Board were no less than 20 variants to choose from.

Activity after the time at BMW

After 2009 he retired at BMW, Bangle started his own design consulting company called Chris Bangle Associates, which is located on a former agricultural estate in northern Italy. Among the clients of the company include Samsung and Hennessy.