"It’s very authentic for BMW to do bold statements,” Domagoj Dukec says with the confident grin of someone who knows that he isn’t dealing in hyperbole.
In this case, we’re talking about the i Vision Circular, the radical concept car that showcases how BMW will apply ‘circular economy’ principles to future production machines. But the head of BMW Design could also be talking about much of his recent work, from the ever-growing range of SUVs to the ever-growing kidney grilles.
While it’s often divisive, Dukec has chosen to go for bold over bland. And that philosophy should stand BMW in good stead as the car industry undergoes a generational transformation through electrification, digitalisation and sustainability. For a car designer, that must be a huge but very exciting challenge.
“You can’t choose in which epoch you’re a designer, but it’s very interesting to be one in a time when the car industry is facing such major challenges, where you don’t even know if it will survive,” says Dukec. “You can use your creativity to offer more, to offer new experiences of mobility.”
The changes in the car industry go beyond the switch to EVs, which BMW has embraced with the likes of the BMW iX3 and BMW i4. Those cars are essentially electric versions of combustion-engined BMW models; for the third phase of its electrification strategy from 2025, BMW is taking a “radically new” approach, including a commitment to sustainability, new software and a new flexible platform that can underpin a huge range of cars.
Company boss Oliver Zipse has named the new phase of models Neue Klasse (new class), reviving the name of the hugely popular line of 1960s models that transformed the fortunes of the Munich firm. As you might have read in last week’s Autocar, the range will encompass all of BMW’s models, including an equivalent of the 3 Series.
Before you get too excited about retro designs, Dukec insists that the only backward-looking thing about the Neue Klasse is the title. “We don’t make a homage to Neue Klasse,” he says.“But we’re a company who defined a new [market] segment and new product that was very relevant in the 1960s, combining elegance and dynamism in a way nobody else had before.”
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What's the idiot who decides to cut in at the roadworks driving? A BMW.
That's before you look at the fact the company has the ethics and morals of a sewer rat.
The motoring world would be a much better place if BMW didn't exist.
Rather like the BMW MIni, mainstream BMWs seem to get uglier with each new generation.
This design director seems to be a fan of fugly for its own sake.
I have no problem with 'new' which I generally look forward to, but I will stick with the clean and simple lines of my Model S, now into its fifth year and 143,000 trouble-free miles.
Unlike a lot of the other people here, I personally don't mind if BMW take a new direction. I really don't care if they decide to ditch the Hofmeister kink or the kidneys or whatever.
But Dukec has two problems: he lacks taste and ability. The new designs are just hideous and executed poorly at that. So it's not the fact that BMW is breaking with tradition that is the problem, it's that the designs themselves are horrible.
And the guy still doesn't get it, always turning up to defend his designs. Here is a clue: if they were any good, they would speak for themselves and wouldn't need to be constantly explained. Malcolm Sayer, Giugaro, Farina, Gandini never had to explain their designs.
Anyway, I am also a BMW customer for the last 15 years, and unfortunately until this guy is gone and all the cars are re-designed, I don't see myself buying another one.