BMWBLOG Exclusive: Jochen Paesen explains the design of the BMW 6 Series Convertible

The 2012 BMW 6 Series Convertible was launched in November 2010 and emphasizes the new design language at BMW. The high-cease convertible brings out to the market place a fresh, sleek and quite sporty await, and features the most avant-garde chassis technology and the most innovative condolement, infotainment and rubber features.

During an exclusive blueprint presentation of the new BMW 6 Series Convertible, BMWBLOG had the opportunity to sit with Jochen Paesen, member of the pattern squad who penned the new cabriolet. Jochen took the fourth dimension to explain for our readers both the exterior and the interior design of the 6 Series Convertible.

Jochen was born in Belgium and lived in South Africa, France, England, Netherlands and Federal republic of germany. He studied in England, at Coventry University, then for 2 years at the Majestic College of Fine art. He has previously worked with Volkswagen for 5 years, so in 2006 he joined BMW.

Jochen has also designed the interior of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics.

BMWBLOG: Jochen, please tell us what was your role in designing the 6 Series Convertible?

Jochen Paesen: I was office of the team – I started at BMW 4 and a half years ago, so I'chiliad quite new at BMW. The design procedure takes quite a long fourth dimension, so the first project I started to work on was the design of the six Series. I worked on the interior, but the main designer of the 6 Serial interior was Christian Bauer, a German language colleague of mine, and I was able to help him with the seats, the back area, doing the back up side, permit'south say, because 1 designer cannot do anything on his ain.

What you lot tin see here are definitely his lines, his design, which was selected and put into production.

On the exterior information technology was Nader Faghihzadeh, who likewise did the interior of the vii Series. The interaction between the exterior and the interior, especially for a machine similar a cabrio, where we want to make sure that all belongs together – the front side flows into the dorsum, the lines movement together with each other. At that place's a very close human relationship between the exterior and the interior pattern.

BMWBLOG: In terms of interior design, could you please show the states the chief features of the 6 Series Convertible?

Jochen Paesen: It was very, very, important to get the lines of the exterior move into interior. When you sit in the auto, lines that are running from the front of the car move into the interior. Then it was very of import that we have this feeling of "flowing", of freedom. When you're driving in the country lanes, in the mountains, you have these flowing forms, and the feeling. That'southward the starting time thing that's important to come across with the doors closed, the bail between the outside and the interior.

When we get into the auto, we see it'due south extremely important to have luxurious materials. For example the alternative stitching lines accentuate the quality materials, and the two-tone color, besides. It was very important to create driver-orientation – for BMW this is very important. We likewise wanted to create inclusive passenger orientation – you accept driver orientation and the rider feels he's left lone, so it was very of import to have swooping lines, very nicely controlled lines, that actually catamenia, that accept a forrard motion – so you have a commuter orientation, but non excluding the passenger.

When y'all sit in the car y'all have a clear angle towards the driver, so the driver knows that this is the infinite enclosed for him. We tried to continue the horizontal feel, because nosotros desire to stretch the car lines – we did the same with the outside, and get that horizontal feeling – stretching the car, and giving also a prissy, stable expect.

It was important to differentiate the driver side from the rider side – accentuate the commuter orientation but have a prissy, elegant, clean area.

Other important features are the black panel, which we're using to create a loftier quality feel; we have a prissy, clean surface that lights up with the functions that we need, the freestanding display. It's important for usa to go dynamic lines, so it was nice to accept a flow, we wanted to be as complimentary as possible, because if you create volumes that are wide, but low, it creates a very prissy, open feeling.

The freestanding display gives united states the opportunity to work with layers, simply also with volumes that are disappearing and don't need to exist covered. It also has to do with modernity, as in every firm today nosotros have flat screens, screens that are hanging – and we wanted to get the aforementioned feeling. It'due south like a podium, standing on a stage and the information is presented to y'all.

The line that goes from the commuter side, from the head-upwards display, is running out into a nice horizontal line.

When nosotros're talking about the doors, hither again we're doing layering, in a sense that we've got volumes that are lying on elevation of each other. It was inspired by sails: when you look at the water, the sail has got overnice current of air in it, there'southward a beautiful grade. Same hither, and you lot see this best when the door is closed, and there's a overnice continuation. So nosotros are going from the front end to the rear and all belongs together.

Yous can come across the theme repeating itself– if you see one part of the car, y'all know it belongs to that other function of the car. It has to have this familiar approach.

When you look to the back yous run across the continuation to the rear section which is flowing, and our aim was to have this integrated into this as much equally possible with the rear, so when the car is open up, information technology's similar the deck of a boat, information technology's a cute continuous surface. So, these lines, these volumes – it was important to give this feeling that the exterior is growing on the interior. In the back we have this unmarried-seat grapheme, and when you're sitting there you feel like 'this is fabricated for me', it'due south reminiscent of the front, where we have the same formula.

BMWBLOG: Tin can you tell us more about the driver-orientation in the car? How was it expressed?

Jochen Paesen: This is best seen when you lot sit in the driver'due south seat: you can see the lines moving frontward, this feeling of direction you're driving to. All the lines are either moving forrad or flowing effectually you, and giving the direction and the driver orientation.

BMWBLOG: What was the source of inspiration in designing this car?

Jochen Paesen: With this car, clearly, information technology was water. Merely in general when we design cars, it can exist anything, the smallest thing, or even a building. It varies, merely in this case it was the idea of water and a glamorous approach.

BMWBLOG: What is the interior design item in this car that you lot similar most?

Jochen Paesen: That'southward very hard to answer, considering I think that only together it works. What I similar and so much is that it works both for the exterior and the interior, as all the lines have somehow a similar approach. And when it comes together, the machine just fits. And then it'southward non just i unmarried particular I like, only the way the concept flows and the way it works together.

BMWBLOG: Were you also involved in designing the 6 Serial Coupe?

Jochen Paesen: Yes, considering I mainly worked with the seats and the back area, and equally they are for both cars – Coupe and Cabriolet are two things nosotros work on in parallel, so I also worked on the interior design of the Coupe.

BMWBLOG: Jochen, delight tell u.s. also some primal points almost the outside design.

Jochen Paesen: You tin can clearly see, starting from the front, this idea of water going around an object. The lines create a very muscular and in the same elegant look. I imagine this car cruising somewhere. Information technology's very fast, only it's not necessarily brutal. It tin can be cruel when you want information technology to be as such, and it can be fast when you want it to be fast, but it tin also exist elegant. And I recollect the car shows this quite well in these lines.

When you look at the grille, it'south quite upright. It'southward sitting frontward and it has this kind of movement to the front – that's in order to requite us the direction. And even when it stands, you have a feeling similar it is moving.

As for the kidneys or other cadre elements – the importance is to do them once more and again, but they don't have to remain the same. The lights don't always accept to be circular, there is an estimation. You accept the freedom to say – what do the rounds double headlights mean? What character do I want to create? What face do I want to create for the car?

This car is low, broad, has a certain presence when it's standing in your driveway. When you look at it, yous're excited to meet it, it touches y'all on the heart and it connects with y'all in a way.
The sideline is as well about the BMW heritage, but also we have these concave and convex surfaces, we're still playing with light and shadow, like nosotros've been doing for a while. In the same time, nosotros're developing information technology further, we're looking at how elegant tin it exist, how far can nosotros have it, and how does it help us. Hither it helps u.s. by creating very nice shapes, over the bicycle arches, with a beautiful sculptured feeling. When you look at this, it looks really stretched but without being brutal. Overnice shapes.
I ever call back the car is successful when y'all like to launder it. When you wash it, it has beautiful forms, squeamish shapes. For me those are the kind of things that make me happy: this kind of shape, of transition, brings quality to the design.

And so, all the lines which start at the forepart become back of the auto, and so information technology flows. When you look from backside, the auto looks like a deck of a boat. We tried to keep the car as horizontal as possible. It is important for a sports machine to sit low to the ground, but visually yous're able to bear witness more by creating lines that are coming in, coming downward, bringing the surfaces visually down. It's not something that you run across consciously, but in your mind something shows that the lines bring the volumes down. These are the kind of tricks we played with in order to give width to this auto.

BMWBLOG: And now moving to a more personal question: taking into account all the cars, not necessarily BMWs, what is the pattern y'all similar the most?

Jochen Paesen: Actually it is a BMW, because I honey BMW, I am a BMW guy. BMW for me has a lot of nice one-time cars: for example the 507 – this is very cute, very pure. Information technology's one of those cars you see it drives well, even if it'southward standing still. And exactly those kind of things we're trying to do in our pattern – giving it movement while it'south continuing still. The 507 does that 100%. I likewise like the CS Concept – it's floating, it's very beautifully hovering over the road, beautifully stretched.

Among the more recent cars, I beloved the first generation three Series, because it'south also very pure, very make clean, and very simple. But it still has the same principles that are being used today.

BMWBLOG: We learned that yous are a Motorsport passionate. Practise you find inspiration in Motorsport?

Jochen Paesen: Yes, for sure, because design is competition, and Motorsport is competition. In a very different way, for certain, but I can see and understand a lot of this competition element and that excites me, because I love the idea of competition, then racing fits in perfectly.
Motorsport is as well about the materials they utilize, the solutions they find, that's also virtually existence efficient, because yous need to exist every bit quick as possible. And our role today in designing cars is to exist efficient: efficient textile, efficient in fuel consumption, efficient with what we offer – nosotros've got to be able to offer exactly what the customer wants, and y'all've got to be efficient with the decisions yous brand. And then it has its parallels, plus that when you go watch a race, information technology's also an emotional thing. So for me it's very close to the motor sports.

BMWBLOG: And i last question: since you mentioned competition, practise you participate in blueprint competitions?

Jochen Paesen: Yes, always. For the future, I will participate to other design contest. The competition element volition e'er be there – you have to run into what's best, and nosotros have to practise new proposals, try new things. At the end of the mean solar day it's one guy who wins, but there's never one guy who is on the whole affair on his own. It is competition, just within a team …

Jochen, thank you for your fourth dimension and expert luck!

Special thanks to Alex Seremet – BMW Romania for the opportunity of this interview!

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Source: https://www.bmwblog.com/2011/04/15/bmwblog-exclusive-jochen-paesen-explains-the-design-of-the-bmw-6-series-convertible/