The DNA of BMW

PHOTO COURTESY OF BMW

Workers prepare a model of the new 5 Series GT.

John Leblanc

SPECIAL TO THE STAR

BMW makes the "ultimate driving machines," or so we've been told for decades. But how does a brand that practically invented the sports sedan – way back with the BMW 2002 in the late 1960s – stay true to its roots when it now also produces full-size luxury sedans, SUVs and crossovers?

Wheels sat down with BMW's chief of exterior design, Anders Warming, to discuss the automaker's long-established design DNA, and how it's being translated in new types of BMWs, such as the 2010 5 Series Gran Turismo.

Wheels: How does BMW's approach to design reflect the brand?

WARMING: Everything is an open page; every new car is a new chapter. But as far as the proportions, details and how the car looks, it is always a sense of dynamic – an inherent part of BMW's DNA. It's also illustrating how the car drives, how the car feels, how the car brakes.

Wheels: Are there specific elements you try to illustrate in every BMW?

WARMING: Quite simply, we try and keep that part of the formula simple. The double round headlights, the kidney-shaped grille, the Hofmeister kink (the iconic C-pillar window shape) and the L-shaped headlights are set in stone. If I don't see those features in (designers') sketches, I would ask, "How would you integrate the Hofmeister"? It has to be in there, even on concepts like the recent Vision Efficient Dynamics Concept. Everything else is open. There's a bandwidth of interpretation.

Wheels: How does a large hatchback, like the new 5 Series Gran Turismo, fall in line with BMW's design philosophy?

WARMING: With all due respect, it is not a hatchback. The 5 GT was done in an authentic BMW manner. "Authentic" because the car was developed from the inside out. The front driving position affords you a command view of the road. The 5 GT is also a "dynamic" statement in the sense of a dynamic lifestyle: going places at ease, and having a lot of space around you to suggest travelling in style.

Wheels: What do you mean by "travelling in style?"

WARMING: It means a sense of occasion, the promise of room. There is no car out there – that's why I have to disagree that it is not a large hatchback – that allows you travel in such style. It allows you to communicate "getting there" as the goal, instead of "how fast can I get there?" Using the tailgate or trunk opening is also a sense of occasion. You have a little opening for little things, like when you are shopping. Or you can open the rear tailgate completely, without it causing a draft in the car.

Wheels: What are you most pleased about in the new 5 GT?

WARMING: I am extremely excited about the 5 GT's packaging, especially the rear headroom. It allowed us to get very sleek roofline that, I think, makes the car special and elegant. But at the same time, you have this surprise – Ah ha! – as you get inside the car and sit in there, and you realize you really do have a lot of room.

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