The German Design Council paid tribute to the BMW Group with a total of 19 awards in the Automotive Brand Contest. The BMW Group emerged as a winner 16 times in the international design competition. In the Exterior Premium Brand category the winners included the BMW Z4, the BMW M6 Gran Coupé, the MINI Paceman and the BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo, which was also named a winner in the Interior Premium Brand category.
The dynamic sculpture “MINI KAPOOOW!”, which was presented at the 2013 Salone del Mobile, was designated a winner in the events category. Likewise created for this year’s Salone del Mobile, the installation “QUIET MOTION” – a collaboration between BMW i and internationally acclaimed designers Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec – was singled out for a Special Mention.
Further top places were claimed by a number of BMW Group projects that were named winners in the architecture category: the brand presentation at BMW Welt of MINI and MINI John Cooper Works, Rolls-Royce Motor Cars and BMW Motorrad with the Biker’s Lodge, the refurbishment and redesign of the BMW Brand Store in Paris, and the concept and design of the BMW Brand Experience Centre in Shanghai. In the Campaign category, the panel of judges gave awards to the globally integrated campaign “Designed for Driving Pleasure”, the BMW 7 Series commercial “Sovereignty” and the online commercial “MINI NEXT FAMILY” for the MINI Next premium used car scheme. The BMW magazine and the business customer magazine “BMW Business Class” emerged as winners in the corporate publishing category.
In the architecture category, the jury was particularly impressed by the brand showcasing at BMW Welt of BMW / BMW M / BMW Individual / BMW i, which earned the “best of best” accolade, as well as by the commercials in the BMW 1 Series campaign for the Driving Experience Control switch, which elicited a special mention.
The Automotive Brand Contest 2013 was organised by the German Design Council, a foundation that ranks among the world-leading competence centres for communications and knowledge transfer in the field of design. The Automotive Brand Contest was called into being in 2011. As the only neutral, international design contest for automotive brands, it has since established itself as a key event for the industry. The formal awards ceremony will take place on 10 September 2013 as part of the Automotive Designers’ Night.
The interplay of classical proportions and cutting-edge technology defines the character of the BMW Z4. The slender, elongated bonnet, long wheelbase and flat rear of the open-top two-seater determine its clear outlines. The retractable hard top blends seamlessly into the car’s form, tracing a softly flowing roofline when closed. Large window surfaces ensure optimised all-round vision and a sense of spaciousness in the interior. At the press of a button, the hard top can be opened at speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph), ensuring an authentic BMW-style roadster feeling.
The BMW 3 Series Gran Turismo guarantees long-distance comfort in a unique lounge atmosphere. This model unites the sporty-dynamic genes of the Sedan with the practicality and versatility of the BMW 3 Series Touring. The distinctive character of the exterior is defined by doors with frameless windows, a gently raked roofline reminiscent of a coupe, and a large, automatically opening and closing electric tailgate.
The design of the BMW M6 Gran Coupé embodies the unique harmony of athletic and aesthetic appeal. Hallmark M design cues are a direct reflection of the car’s technical strengths, with the chassis geometry, weight balance and aerodynamics lending visual expression to the outstanding performance attributes of the BMW M6 Gran Coupé. The flat roofline slopes smoothly into the rear to give the extremely powerful four-door, premium-class coupé a dynamically stretched silhouette. Top-quality materials, such as the ultra-light yet extremely rigid high-tech carbon fibre used for the coupé roof, round off the impression.
The MINI Paceman is the first Sports Activity Coupe in the premium small and compact car segment. Its combination of sporty design, coupe silhouette and lounge-like interior make the MINI Paceman a pioneer in city traffic.
On the occasion of the Salone del Mobile 2013, the MINI design team under Anders Warming, Head of MINI Design, staged the MINI Paceman in the form of a dynamic sculpture. In the two-part installation MINI KAPOOOW! the MINI Paceman breaks free of the traditional design process and crosses the boundaries of space to undergo a transformation of materials and forms. With its sporting agility, the MINI Paceman is poised to leap into a new world in which colours and materials change and open up unimagined realms of experience.
The installation QUIET MOTION is the result of a collaboration between BMW i and the globally renowned designers Ronan & Erwan Bouroullec. It was likewise presented against the backdrop of the Salone del Mobile 2013. The Bouroullec brothers found their inspiration for this work in the BMW i focus on lightweight design, transparency, the use of renewable resources and the new, quiet driving experience of the BMW i models. The upshot is a slowly and silently rotating installation reminiscent of a carousel. QUIET MOTION is a symbolic interpretation of motion and contemplation which at the same time represents the forwarding-looking vehicle design of BMW i in a minimalist, aesthetic form that draws on sustainable materials.
Last year already saw BMW and MINI ranked among the top placings in several categories: 48 of the coveted awards went to BMW Group projects, 14 of them to BMW Group Design.
