"Best of the best" - BMW Group Design.
Six vehicles won the red dot award 2008 - Special "red dot: best of the
best" award for BMW 3 Series Convertible and BMW G 450 X - double
success for BMW Group DesignworksUSA.
Munich. With its successful performance at the red dot award 2008, BMW
Group continues its career of excellence in pioneering design. This
year, a total of six members of the BMW Group won the internationally
acclaimed label. Two of them, the BMW 3 Series Convertible and the BMW
G 450 X motorcycle also won awards in the special category "red dot:
best of the best" for outstanding design achievements in the
automotive, transport and caravan segment. The trophies will be
presented on 23 June, 2008 on occasion of the awards ceremony at the
Aalto Theatre in Essen/Germany. Other finalists for the red dot awards
2008 were the BMW X5, the BMW 1 Series Coupe, the Rolls-Royce Phantom
Drophead Coupe and the BMW HP2 Sport motorcycle. BMW Group globally
operating subsidiary BMW Group DesignworksUSA also impressed the
high-profile members of the jury. The design studio won a red dot award
for the interior design of the Embraer MSJ business jet and the design
of the Zeydon Z60 luxury yacht.
For the first time in the history of the red dot awards, the jury will
provide "honorable mentions" during this year's ceremony. With these
honorable mentions, the jury will pay special attention to products
that have clearly set themselves apart from the competition by their
particularly successful design solutions. According to the jury, three
current BMW Group models deserve this special recognition: the BMW M3
Coupe, the MINI Clubman and the BMW F 800 GS motorcycle.
Launched in 1955, the red dot award has become established as one of
the most important design awards in the world. It recognizes
achievements in numerous categories such as automotive, architecture,
domestic, consumer electronics, fashion, life science and medicine.
This year, the jury considered the design of 3,203 products from all
over the world. A total of 600 products won the red dot Label. Thirty
red dot awards are granted to contenders in the automotive, transport
and caravan category, three of which are also presented with the "best
of the best" award for particularly pioneering design. Two of these top
three are current members of the BMW Group family: the BMW 3 Series
Convertible, which reinterprets the classic line flow of an open BMW 3
Series by combining it with a retractable hardtop, and the BMW G 450 X
motorcycle, a no-nonsense sports enduro that openly displays it zest
for contest.
The repeated great success of BMW Group with the red dot awards again
confirms that outstanding design quality will be rewarded with
international recognition. Last year, BMW Group was honored for its
ongoing, innovative design achievement: as a highlight of the gala, BMW
Group was presented with the title "Design Team of the Year". In 2007,
BMW Group and BMW Group DesignworksUSA won a total of eight red dot
awards for product design.
The fact that all models of all brands regularly contribute to the
success of BMW Group during highly acclaimed design competitions such
as the red dot award confirms the strength of BMW Group Design's
unusual concept that combines a common design philosophy with
brand-specific design strategies. The brand-specific design strategies
are based on the philosophy of BMW Group. The claim to premium
substance lies at the heart of this philosophy. In all three brands,
this claim comes with a guarantee of aesthetic quality. This philosophy
demands respect for every individual brand, its idiosyncrasies,
specific design characteristics and last, but not least, its history.
Accordingly, the core objective of any BMW Group Design team consists
of tracking down the individual character of a brand and its model, to
establish a perfect and suitable equilibrium between factors that
affect the overall design such as dynamism, technology, driving
experience, enthusiasm, comfort, panache, elegance and innovative force
and find the right expression in its design.
The common characteristics that are encouraged and maintained by BMW
Group Design are not obvious at first glance, as every single one of
the three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce has their own, strong
identity with clear values and a unique image. Only an intense study of
BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce and even BMW motorcycle design reveals the
congruities. The development of models for the three brands under one
roof generates powerful and positive synergies. This constellation also
provides fertile ground for the brand design, which boosts the strong
character of the individual brands.
With its cross-brand design philosophy, BMW Group Design maintains
strategies that underline the unifying personality of all three brands
while also boosting the powerful, unique personality of BMW, MINI and
Rolls-Royce models. On a third level, each of these three brands
express new, creative ideas within the cross-brand philosophy, which is
the benefit of the extraordinary collective innovative strength of BMW
Group. Dr. Klaus Draeger, Head of BMW Group's Development and
Purchasing division to which BMW Group Design reports, explains: "When
we introduced a new concept, which would unite all our different brand
design studios in the culture of BMW Group Design, we clearly made the
right decision. Expressing the fact that all our products belong to the
family of BMW Group and ensuring the efficient cooperation with all
process partners while boosting the unique personality of the
individual brand can only be achieved when all team members are working
closely together." |
|