A new train from BMW. DesignworksUSA creates advanced concept for rail transportation

Munich/Los Angeles. On the occasion of the international exhibition for railway
systems "InnoTrans" in Berlin (September 24 - 27, 2002) DesignworksUSA, a BMW
Group subsidiary, presents an innovative and comprehensive concept for an
all-new train generation. With the project developed for the German railway
systems supplier Siemens, the design team in the Munich based studio of
DesignworksUSA was being faced with a completely different kind of challenge -
especially for an automotive company.

The theme of mobility has many faces. While cars are being designed with ever
more technical innovations and visual features, railway stations in Germany
were until recently as dull as the trains that went through them. But recently,
travelling by train has become a somewhat more pleasant experience since the
advent of the ICE trains (Intercity Express) and the creation of a number of
highly modern railway stations. Since than expectations in aesthetics are
rising in the field of railway transportation.

The concept for the new train generation was devised by the BMW subsidiary,
DesignworksUSA, for the Siemens group, and it has succeeded in raising rail
aesthetics to new heights. For decades Siemens has been supplying the train
manufacturing industry with parts but now it has sought to concentrate its
expertise on its own brand with a unique design identity.

The aim of this design study was to give Siemens Trains a distinctive identity.
"This enables the company to present itself not only as components developer
but also as a systems supplier for rail operators,"' says Laurenz Schaffer,
head of the DesignWorks studios in Munich, describing the order he has been
given. "Our instructions are to render visible Siemens' entire development
competence in the design of this train." According to the brief, the new
identity concept must be suitable for all the product segments of Siemens
Trains. "And this," according to Schaffer, "is only possible by using a design
language which allows for a great number of variations."

The BMW Group subsidiary, DesignworksUSA, with offices in California and
Munich, has conducted successful work for customers like Nokia, Microsoft,
Adidas, Villeroy & Boch, Motorola and Siemens, in addition to its activities
for its parent company BMW Group. Creating a design strategy for the entire
train family in three segments was a great challenge for the experienced design
workers.

So how does a train become a brand? How do you turn a train into 'a Siemens'?
At this years InnoTrans show in Berlin, the largest rail exhibition in the
world, (24 to 27 September 2002), visitors and experts alike will be presented
with a whole range of new train designs. In addition to functionality, the
focus will be on design identity. According to Schaffer, "Brands are like
personalities in that their characters can be described in terms of their
essential features." The creative heads at BMW begin by translating these
attributes into design aims and developing these into an individual form
language with its own significant recognition features. "Design reflects the
brand in a form in which it can be experienced," is Schaffer's succinct
explanation.

The study is designing a joint, optically related train family for the regional
networks, intercity and high speed trains. The aim of the joint design
characteristics across the three segments is to give the field of train travel
a new image, by applying a uniform and new dynamism to the current visual chaos
on the tracks, within which only the ICE train stands out from the mass. Since
a train can not be considered a seasonal product, its design must be able to
set standards for many years to come.

The main features of the new train family and its wholly unusual aesthetics are
its high level of modernity and dynamism combined with relaxedness, reliability
and familiarity. The clear horizontal construction and the dramatic
constructive form language characterize the unconventional appearance of the
three train types. The succinct character of the locomotive head in particular,
with its rising roof contours and vertical light strips represents a
considerable contrast to the present jet-nosed face of the current ICE models.

The regional trains are the familiar friends of the daily commuter community.
It displays its unique personality through its steep front face. The InterCity
on the other hand flirts with somewhat more elegance, moving through the
countryside with its flatter-nosed appearance. The high speed train is aglow
with visionary styling and its fascinating luminous strip night appearance. The
basic design elements remain the same for all three trains - convex bends
responding to gentle, concave lines on hard edges. Contrasts coming together to
form a whole.

The essential development of the new rail vision was conducted in the Munich
office of DesignworksUSA, which has existed since 1998. Seven young designers
are constantly working on new ideas for the parent company as well as outside
customers. For example, the sophisticated Lifestyle collection for the new
MINI, which will be presented at the Paris Autosalon from September 27, 2002,
was created in this Munich office. The BMW brand-specific lifestyle collections
and accessories for the Formula 1 team BMW Williams descendent were also
created in the extensive Munich studios. A number of other successful product
designs also came into being under the auspices of the Munich team. For
example, an innovative train was designed for the German Railways at the Expo
2000, mobile phones for the Nokia company and computers for Compaq.

Together with the hundred or so colleagues in California, whose activities
include participating in the design concepts for the new Roadster Z4 and BMW 3
generation, the BMW subsidiary has moved on to become an internationally
renowned top level agency for product and industrial design.

For questions please contact:

Corporate Communications

Jochen Frey, Product Communcation, Automobiles
Telephone: +49-(0)89-382-28576, Fax: +49-(0)89-382-20626

Rudolf Probst, Product Communication
Telephone: +49-(0)89-382-22088, Fax: +49-(0)89-382-20626

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