Chris Bangle is perhaps the best-known and most influential car designer of the 21st century and this is no doubt due to the radical transformation of BMW’s design language that took place under his leadership in the 2000s. Although he quit BMW and auto design altogether in 2009 to set up his own independent design studio in Turin, Italy, his voice is still an important one in the industry.
So what is Bangle’s opinion about current automotive design? Well, let’s just say his words are not very flattering for designers and automakers alike. In an interview with Automotive News Europe, the Ohio-born designer says the auto industry’s inability to look at itself objectively is stifling progress.
According to Bangle, car designers are stuck in a phase he describes as “mannerism”, as they rely on much the same approaches and elements that they have in the past.
“There is a real need for a change and that’s just not happening,” Bangle said, adding that many designers talk about innovation, but nobody is really doing it. “Even concept cars today simply anticipate the next production model coming down the line. Is this innovation? No. And at the end of the day this is what’s preventing car design from moving into a new era,” the designer said.
In the interview, Bangle also reveals he has had offers to head design at some automakers, but has refused every one of them. “Designing cars consumes you; it has a hold on your spirit which is incredibly powerful. It’s not something you can do part time, you have do it with all your heart and soul or you’re going to get it wrong,” he explained.
As for the time spent at BMW, Bangle says he loved working for the Bavarian automaker, but that “you have to know when to leave the party.”
By Dan Mihalascu
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