Chris Bangle

Born October 14, 1956, Chris Bangle is an American automobile designer. He is known best for his work as Chief of Design for BMW Group, where he was responsible for the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce motor cars.

Bangle attended the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, California, earning a Bachelor of Science degree and a Master’s degree in Industrial Design and started his career at Opel. The first work that he designed is the interior of the Junior concept car. He later moved to Fiat and worked as a chief designer of the Fiat Coupe. He became the first American chief of design of BMW on October 1, 1992, where he designed the Z9 Gran Turismo concept car. His styling themes have generated intense controversy among automotive designers, and have had a polarizing effect with respect to their visual cues.

On February 3, 2009, Bangle announced that he was to quit both his position at BMW and the auto industry altogether, to focus on his own design-related endeavors.