Adrian van Hooydonk has been appointed BMW Design Director, taking over the reigns from Mr. Bangle Butt himself, Chris Bangle. Current BMW's have just gotten weird, so we welcome the regime change.
This move will likely result in a freshening of the brand and a further refinement of the current BMW flame surfacing. Below are galleries of some of the designs that van Hooydonk oversaw in his previous position as Design Director, BMW Cars.
Official BMW Press Release:
According to BMW, Adrian van Hooydonk - "a man who shares Bangle's fascination for technology and aesthetics, tradition and innovation" - will continue to build on a design philosophy, which extends across the BMW Group's brands.
Bangle described van Hooydonk as "truly a top professional in our business," adding, "I am sure that the many strong design strategies he has helped us create for the BMW Group will continue to develop and evolve."
"I am honoured and extremely excited to take on this new responsibility", says van Hooydonk.
"BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce produce the best cars and motorcycles in their segment, and I am really looking forward to being able to contribute to the future development of these brands."
Speaking of his hopes for the years to come, van Hooydonk added: "I have no doubt that there are challenges ahead, but BMW's depth in engineering and the passion of its talented design team are as strong as ever. Together I am sure we will be able to create some very sophisticated and extremely attractive concepts."
About Adrian van HooydonkBorn in the Netherlands, Adrian van Hooydonk studied at Delft Polytechnic University in Holland and later at the Art Center Europe in Vevey, Switzerland, until 1992.
From there he came to Munich, where he joined BMW as a designer. In the year 2000 he went to California to work for the BMW Group subsidiary Designworks USA. He was Director of the internationally renowned design agency from 2001 to 2004.
Then, under Bangle as the BMW Group's Head of Design, he became Head of the Brand Design Studio for BMW Automobiles.
The BMW 6 Series and 7 Series lines clearly bear the hallmark of van Hooydonk's design influence, as do the Z9 Concept Car, the BMW Concept CS (unveiled in 2007) and the M1 Hommage Study.
In 1997 van Hooydonk created the ACV 30 Show Car for MINI and more recently he and his team have developed the designs for the new BMW 7 Series and Z4 as well as for the Concept Progressive Activity Sedan, which celebrates its premiere at the Geneva Auto Show in early March 2009.
Adrian van Hooydonk's Timeline
* 21.06.1964- Born in Echt, Limburg (Netherlands)
* 1970 – 1976 -Basis School, Echt (Netherlands)
* 1976 – 1982 -Middelbare School, Echt (Netherlands)
* 1982 – 1988 -Delft Polytechnic University, Delft (Netherlands), Masters Degree in Industrial Design
* 1988 – 1989 - Free-Lance Industrial Designer (Netherlands)
* 1989 – 1990 -General Electric Plastics Europe, Bergen op Zoom (Netherlands); Product designer
* 1991 – 1992 - Art Center Europe, Vevey (Switzerland); Degree in Automotive Design
* 1992 – 2000 -BMW AG, Munich (Germany); Automotive exterior designer
* 2000 – 2001 - BMW Group DesignworksUSA, Newbury Park (USA); Head of automotive design department
* 2001 – 2004 - BMW Group DesignworksUSA, Newbury Park (USA); President
* 2004 – 2009 - BMW AG, Munich (Germany); Director of Design, BMW Cars
* February 2009 - Director of Design, BMW Group
[via BMW]