When BMW the 2002 7 Series sedan at the Frankfurt Motor Show on Sept. 11, 2001, the buzz in the hall, not yet steam-rolled by the terrorist attacks in the U.S., was all about the new Bimmer with what would become known as the "Bangle butt."
That wasn't a reference to the derrière of the bespectacled, 51-year-old Wisconsin-born, California-educated chief designer at BMW, Chris Bangle, who was responsible for the styling of BMW's flagship sedan, but rather the ungainly trunk that seemed at first glance to be so disconnected from the car as to be bolted on from another sedan. The four taillights, too, were bashed for a busy, ungainly look. One European auto industry critic memorably proclaimed that it looked like a dining room table had been dropped on the rear of the vaunted 7 Series.
Maybe Paris will be luckier for BMW than Frankfurt. In early October, BMW will unveil to the public an all-new flagship, designed under the direct supervision of BMW brand design chief Adrian Van Hooydonk, though Bangle remains chief designer over all BMW brands: BMW, MINI, and Rolls-Royce.