Chris Bangle leaves auto industry

Sad news for some, and probably good news for others as well as BMW Group's Head of Design, Christopher Bangle, has announced that he will be leaving the auto industry to pursue his own design-related interests. His position will be taken over by BMW's current Head of Automobile Design, Adrian van Hooydonk, whom he has been working with since 1992.

While at BMW Group, he was responsible for the BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce cars. Despite much controversy over Bangle's designs, such as the "Bangle Butt" and flame surfacing techniques, many agree that he has brought BMW's designs to the next level. Models such as the E60 5 Series and E65 7 Series raised many eyebrows and deeply divided BMW enthusiasts, whereas others like the Z4 and 6 Series won many praises from all around.

"Christopher Bangle has had a lasting impact on the identity of BMW Group's brands. His contribution to the company's success has been decisive," said BMW development chief, Klaus Draeger.

Check out the gallery for some of the BMW models which Chris Bangle designed.