BMW X6 Wins Prestigious "EyesOn Design" Award at US Auto Show.First Sports Activity Coupe wins award at its world premiere.

BMW X6 Wins Prestigious "EyesOn Design" Award at US Auto Show.
First Sports Activity Coupe wins award at its world premiere: jury
recognizes BMW Group Design's unique innovative force. Munich. It
attracts attention - and it has already won its first illustrious award
in advance of its official market launch. The BMW X6 won the EyesOn
Design Award occasion of its world premiere at the North American
International Auto Show (NAIAS) 2008 in Detroit/USA. Every year, the
prestigious award is presented at the NAIAS. The jury is comprised of
top designers from major international car manufacturers, among them
BMW Group's Head of Design Chris Bangle. The award recognizes
particularly innovative concepts and new developments in different
vehicle segments. The BMW X6 stood out from other contenders in the SUV
segment. The jury selected the first Sports Activity Coupe because of
its pioneering and unique character: "The BMW X6 demonstrates
superiority with a truly innovative design, which combines the sporting
elegance of a large BMW Coupe with the powerful look of a BMW Sports
Activity Vehicle. No other car in the world achieves this unique
combination." Anders Warming, Head of BMW Exterior Design,
accepted the EyesOn Design Award in Detroit on behalf of the entire BMW
Group Design team. Creating unusual and seminal design is a fine art
and the latest BMW X models are an impressive example of the fact that
BMW Group's team of designers have it down to a T. When BMW launched
its Sports Activity Vehicle, the manufacturer established an innovative
and pioneering vehicle category. The highly acclaimed exterior set new
standards and has been used as a role model for years. Now BMW Group
has created a completely new type of car: the Sports Activity Coupe. It
unites the elegant, dynamic flow of the roofline with the off-road
features of BMW X models- the BMW X6 presents the perfect, innovative
and fascinating combination of design components. The appearance of the
new BMW X6 is the advancement of the striking form language of the BMW
X models with their consistent focus on a sporting and elegant
presence. The unique selling point of the BMW X6 is a completely new
combination of a dynamic roofline with a high shoulder line, striking,
sculpted wheel houses and a centerpoint that is a visible reference to
the car's four-wheel drive. The unusually creative application of the
creators' design language shows the outstanding innovative force of
BMW's team of designers. At BMW, successful design with a sustained
attractiveness is the result of a complex and systematic design
process. The BMW X6 presents an authentic unity of exterior appearance
and product substance. The vehicle concept of the first Sports Activity
Coupe combines the sporting elegance of large BMW Coupes with the
powerful presence of BMW X models. The design symbolizes the car's
character, which thanks to an innovative drive technology featuring
Dynamic Performance Control, delivers a unique driving experience. The
BMW X6 creates a link between brand-specific on-road dynamism and
maximum control in all terrain. The new model's driving performance
meets all expectations that the BMW X6 design evokes. Premium design
derives its value from a clearly defined maturity process. For BMW Group
and its successful brands - BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorcycle-
an elaborate and time-consuming development process precedes the sheer
driving pleasure. This is true for all technical components as well as
for the design: according to BMW Group's design philosophy, design is
supposed to precisely and authentically translate the specific values
of the premium substance into a meaningful form language. The design
process, which starts with the initial conception, produces different
drafts and finally yields the final model ready for series production
is a highly complex affair. During a development process that lasts
many years, BMW Group's team of designers cooperates with a number of
experts from different departments such as aerodynamics, ergonomics,
safety and marketing. The design process is comprised of three stages
that every vehicle will undergo during its development by BMW Group
Design. Within the company, these design stages are referred to as
Understanding, Believing and Seeing. All three phases are basically
dominated by BMW Group Design's central principle: the individual is at
the center of the creative process. This prime principle defines not
only the working methods of BMW Group Design, but also characterizes the
workflow of the entire project. Successful design derives its value from
a prolonged maturity process. "It takes time to match the numerous
details of exterior design with those of interior design in order to
create a consistent, harmonious product, and also achieve and
emotionalize their functional perfection," says Christopher E.
Bangle, Head of BMW Group Design. "A car achieves its premium
substance as a result of a consistent overall concept and not because
of any individual details." This is even more important when it
comes to creating a completely new vehicle category, as is the case with
the new BMW X6. Integrative Project Management. The way to a
harmonious overall concept leads past numerous stages, which must be
monitored and controlled by way of a mature process management to
actually remove some of the workload and allow designers to explore
their creativity to the full. Due to the high number of individual work
sequences, the control of complexity within the network of car
development and production is at the top of the design process
management agenda. Transparent and logical structures are prerequisite.
BMW Group Design operates departments for process control, methodology
development and data transfer. All of these are indispensable, as they
ensure that BMW Group Design becomes an equal cooperation partner for
the various development departments and vehicle development project
managers. Integration is the only way to ensure that a successful
prototype can actually become a successful production model. Advanced
Design Studio. The BMW Advanced Design Studio, an independent design
department with an exclusive focus on developing innovative and
advanced design concepts irrespective of the actual design
specifications, prepares the ground for the three development stages.
With a free and independent approach to future challenges within the
mobility context, the BMW Advanced Design Studio generates ideas and
drafts without the obligations of requirements and specifications.
During this process, the team uses a wide variety of inspirational
sources. These range from areas such as the study of societies and
cultures, material and technical innovations through to the observation
of internal and external production processes. Customer specifications
and the requirements of a global market are included in these research
studies and considerations. Project Phase No. 1 - Understanding At the
beginning of every new development, the design teams invest a lot of
time into gaining a thorough insight into the details and design
specifications of the new project. In cooperation with experts from
different specialist areas, the teams embark on a quest for new
solutions, innovative materials and efficiency improvement tools. As
part of the design department, design engineering is the connecting
link between designers and engineers. Different skills and experiences
from the advanced design stage are reflected in corresponding vehicle
concepts. The Understanding stage focuses on finding the right
proportions. Finding a common understanding of all influencing factors
and their effect on the chosen approach is the main objective of the
first stage. This stage can take more than one year. During this
process, car designers are working hard to achieve process integration,
which frequently turns out to be an trying tightrope walk with
conflicting demands. This requires a highly skilled approach as all
available technical innovations are to be implemented in such a way
that they are perceived as perfect in their functionality, reasonable
and, at the same time, optically fascinating by the future customer. It
also requires consolidating and aligning additional requirements of
marketing, design and engineering. As the project progresses, all team
members involved come to agree on a mutual perspective on the
specifications of the new car. During the ongoing quest for a solution,
these specifications are frequently contrasted with the devised
concepts. The internal competition that characterizes exterior and
interior design projects is a characteristic feature of this approach.
The designers submit their models to a highly creative contest.
Believing Based on the specified proportions, the characteristic design
language of the vehicle concept is now developed. The focus is on the
target of creating innovative design models with outstandingly
aesthetic proportions and surfaces. In close cooperation and in several
development loops, designers and clay modelers are honing their 1:1
models to create the design effect of a "real" BMW, MINI,
Rolls-Royce or BMW motorcycle. During the "Believing" stage of
the process, design is a tug-of-war between a deeply intuitive and a
highly methodological approach. During this stage, the principle of
perfection that is so typical of BMW also finds an authentic
expression. Only very few car designers attach such great importance to
1:1 models made from clay, a special material for modelers, and focus
on details when honing them. When the models are covered with a special
film that strikingly resembles the coating applied to real cars, the
lines, surfaces and proportions of every clay model can be assessed
during different conditions of illumination. Similar to the previous
development loop, the Understanding stage, the competitive atmosphere
among designers and the integration of development partners and key
executives helps establish a consolidated base for the board of
directors to reach their final decision. Even if all models are
excellent, there is only one model that meets all specifications and
the requirements of the target vision. Seeing The next stage focuses
on the implementation of the selected clay model, i.e. turning the
sculpture that was refined by human hands into a product that can be
reproduced by machines. The clay model is subjected to a non-contact
laser scanning CAD process to create a three-dimensional feasibility
model, which is used as a reference for all developments that follow.
The final design stage is dominated by product optimization at an
advanced level. In a process of ongoing interaction between designers,
engineers, production engineers and clay modelers, the product is
further aligned down to millimeter level in order to guarantee that the
product's premium claim is turned into premium substance - from surface
quality through to detailed functions. From its conception through to
its final stage, the design development process for all vehicles
designed by BMW Group Design is supported by an internal communication
department. All important project stages are documented and
photographically recorded. This information is made available to process
partners in different departments. The network of BMW Group Design
extends far beyond internal departments to ensure that the fascinating
appeal of BMW Group Design comes alive for the customer - from
conception through to the finalized product experience. BMW Design
is an Expression of Personality. Design has a key function within the
entire product development process. It has the objective of giving a
face to the visions of all development partners, that is unmistakable
and modern, yet unaffected by trends and timeless with a sustained
attraction. For BMW designers, cars are more than a vehicle of
transport. To them, cars provide a medium for expressing the personality
of their drivers . As a unique, innovative creation bearing the
typical hallmarks of BMW design as an optical representation of premium
substance in every square inch of its exterior and interior, the BMW X6
fully meets this specification. For questions please contact:
Corporate Communications Dirk Arnold, Product Communication BMW Cars
Tel: +49 89 382 12325, Fax: +49 89 382 20626 Kristina Weith, Product
Communications, Design and Concept Cars Tel: +49 89 382 26707, Fax: +49
89 382 20626 Andreas Lampka, Product Communication BMW Cars, X Models
Telefon: +49 89 382 23662, Fax: +49 89 382 20626 Media website:
www.press.bmwgroup.com E-mail: presse@bmw.de