THE BEGINNING /THE END

Can Adrien van Hooydonk, hea d of BMW Group Design, really redefine the brand – or has he already… irrevocably?

- SIMRA N RASTOGI

It’s a story we’ve seen before. Only, this time around at least, we can’t predict the . The last time we saw a BMW design renaissance, it came in the form of the 2001 E65 7 Series, with Chris Bangle at the helm of BMW Group Design, the man behind the controversial ‘flame surfacing’ that characterised BMW design for years. That 7 Series was everything a BMW shouldn’t have been; the polar opposite of the preceding car, the classically-gorgeous E38, which you may remember from The Transporter and Die Another Day. The E65 on the other hand had droopy headlights, too many hollow surfaces, and a rear end that looked like a backpack.

That it was the most technologically advanced BMW – the first car ever with curtain airbags, and iDrive – did it no favours; though it did spark a new wave of BMWs that helped cement the company as one of the top luxury car brands. At the time, it was defended as being a bold step forward, each convex surface bending Munich’s conservative design boundaries. Certain elements, like the boot design, even came to be known as the ‘Bangle butt’. Some would say Bangle was one of the most influential designers of the century, in his own way. But, the truth is, that E65 7 Series was actually penned, from concept to finish, by a young designer named Adrien van Hooydonk.

The early years