Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design, and Domagoj Dukec, Head of BMW Design, unveiled at the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este 2023 the Concept Touring Coupé, a shooting brake derived from the Z4 and described by Giorgetto Giugiaro, present at the event, as “a BMW with a strong character, with bold lines and a great deal of personality”.
How did the Concept Touring Coupé come about?
Van Hooydonk: “We thought of a luxury car that would be perfect for long weekends travelling through Europe. A true touring car, ideal for crossing the Alps and coming here to Villa d’Este, leaving everyone speechless and having fun behind the steering wheel. It has everything you need in terms of ultimate exclusivity: it was hand-built in Italy and it has a luggage set made to measure by the Schedoni leather goods factory in Modena.
Dukec: “We wanted a car that expressed how important driving pleasure is to BMW. It is a principle that has always belonged to us and will remain at the heart of all our models in the future”.
At the moment it is a concept car, are you thinking of series production?
Dukec: “Villa d’Este is an excellent stage to test the public’s reactions. If they were to be very positive, perhaps we might think of a limited series, perhaps less than 1,000 pieces, which would also make road worthiness certification easier and allow each car to be tailored according to customer requirements”.
Electrification is revolutionising mobility design, how has this affected BMW?
Van Hooydonk: “Initially, the stylistic change was perhaps calmer. Now we are instead entering a phase where everything is happening fast. Our approach has been to offer a good design that is not radically different for our electric models than for our thermal or hybrid models. Why force customers to choose between two different products under the bonnet if they like a specific model? You can see this clearly on the new 5 Series: its classic, elegant lines are essentially similar for each version”.
Dukec: “Emotion remains fundamental: you don’t buy a BMW with the idea of functionality. Even sportiness is important, but there are many ways of defining sport, there are those who do yoga and those who run 100 metres. For every model you always have to understand who customers are, their profile and their expectations. The exterior design is, in a way, the face of the person who chooses the car, the interior is even more personal because one spends time on board”.
(Full article in A&D no. 261)
