BMW 6 Series Coupe Designer Nader Faghihzadeh Interviewed

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The new BMW 6 Series Coupe unveiled at the 2010 Paris Motor Show was a relief to BMW enthusiasts who were concerned that the car maker is going too safe and conservative in their designs. The vehicle showcased a perfectly evolutionary design with unique lines. What better way to know what inspired the design language of this vehicle that to interview the designer himself. BMW Blog gets up close with Nader Faghihzadeh, the young and extremely talented Exterior Designer of the BMW 6 Series Coupe, the Gran Coupe, and the 7 Series interior. Here’s an excerpt from the interview:

BMWBLOG: Gran Coupe and 6 Series Coupe – how did you get to design both models?  Did you compete internally for both cars?

Nader Faghihzadeh: Actually, as a 6 Series designer, I started to take part into design competitions, so I was lucky enough to get the honor to design this car. There was also one more thing: we wanted to have the 6 Series family – you have the Coupe, the Cabrio and the Gran Coupe on top.

So, the 6 Series as a series.

BMWBLOG: How is it different to design the two cars?

Nader Faghihzadeh: Both cars show that it’s a 6 Series. This is important. And the difference is in the character. The impression of body to a greenhouse creates the total different character of the whole car. And the functionality is a different thing, as well. It depends on what you want. The customer can get everything – if he wants something really new, as a Coupe interpretation, then maybe he chooses the four-door model. The two-door classic coupe is this car.

BMWBLOG: The exterior of the new 6 Coupe has a much more lean, muscular look over the outgoing E63 6 Coupe. Were there any specific design point to be addressed with the successor to the E63, which was highly acclaimed?

Nader Faghihzadeh: At the beginning of the design phase, we had a briefing. Three words: the next 6 Series has to be athletic, elegant and modern. The next thing is to start with the philosophy of what should the 6 Series express? And this is our biggest coupe, this is the most luxurious and exclusive car we provide, and what I personally wanted was to bring a very fine line-work. It should be a very fine coupe, but in the same time it should be very muscular. If you see the car on the road, especially if you see the car driving, surfaces give the impression of much more light. We create this mixture between the precision and the structure surfaces.

BMWBLOG: The car clearly has short overhangs both front and rear for a car of this size -  performance or aesthetic

Nader Faghihzadeh: At the beginning, we started with proportions in conceptual phase of the car, so the following questions were raised: What is the next step for the proportion of 6 Series? What could we do to make it even more advanced compared to the next generation?

The current 6 Series was very successful, it came out many years after we had no 6 Series anymore. So, this one should take the proportions even further,  the 2+2 concept needed to be stronger and the proportions should be a little bit more exaggerated, more width and more length, and lower. All these together bring a new impression for the architect of the car.

BMWBLOG: What gives the 6 Series its own distinct look within the BMW family?

Nader Faghihzadeh: The impression of the whole thing is that outside, it looks very fine, very high quality, very expensive-looking surfaces. The front part of the car is very low actually, compared to the body. It doesn’t want to be aggressive to show its power, it has a neutral power. It doesn’t need to cry this power out, but you can feel it has charisma.

So we have very sharp lines work in the front and which accentuate the width and sharpness and the lights – as an example, look around the corona headlights. The line-work together with the surface creates a flow of power from the upper part to the surface and onto the front, but also towards the rear. The car has a very elegant rear-end – this is the most fluent rear design we provide at BMW.

BMWBLOG: What highlights of the exterior design you are most proud of?

Nader Faghihzadeh: At a first glance, you see the technology – for example the full LED headlights because they create the fine surfacing, that is repeated somehow because you see the precise lines and lights, the look of high-tech. Inside, we have high quality design and technology – and this is the best thing we can provide at BMW with our technology knowledge.

BMWBLOG: Modern sports car are a compromise between performance, comfort or safety. How does the new 6 Series prioritize these values? Is this car targeted towards more comfort or sportiness?

Nader Faghihzadeh: This car is flexible enough to provide everything. We’ll see in the market, we have the individuality, the configurations of the car, and you can let the exterior look as you want to. It also depends on the options you have. The look of the car expresses expensiveness, luxury, elegance. The other thing is that it’s very sleek, the most sleek BMW with the coupe roofline.

Source: BMW Blog