BMWBLOG Exclusive: Interview with Marcus Syring, MINI Head of Exterior Design

Thousands of workers have dismantled the elaborate displays of the 2011 Northward American International Auto Show, simply before closing the curtains, we bring you lot one last interview from the Detroit show. Final is certainly not least in this case as we were afforded the opportunity to speak with Marcus Syring, MINI head of exterior design.

MINI has been turning stereotypes on their heads for some time, and tossing industry norms into a psychedelic automobile-salad of colour, fun and character. The MINI Rocketman concept? Say no more than.

As nosotros enter into an exciting new chapter of MINI pattern and watch the brand broaden the plurality of their lineup, information technology is always fascinating to speak with the men and women behind the cars. Marcus was enthusiastic about the cars he has designed, including the Paceman concept on display in front of us during our conversation. His passion for MINI is obvious and we're confident you volition enjoy our exclusive interview from the show floor.

BMWBLOG: What was your vision when designing the MINI Paceman?

Marcus Syring: When we started the development of the Countryman, we have figured out that the platform is very
proficient in terms of proportions, its wheelbase, track, wheel size, front and rear overhangs. We thought it would exist as well sad to make one derivative out of it. Then we looked into dissimilar possible derivative that could come across the expectations and demands of our customers. Management, marketing and Adrian Van Hooydonk we all figured out that a coupe would be the all-time derivative on that platform. To accept a sibling, a brother of the Countryman, but with a different character.

If you look at both cars, they share the same bonnet, same headlights and even the angle of the windscreen is the aforementioned. But from that point onwards, we have changed everything dramatically to show they are blood brother and sister, merely with
a completely unlike grapheme. Most of the lines on the Countryman are vertically oriented in order to emphasize practicality, the four wheel bulldoze, ground clearance, the utility of a iv doors. That car has a lot of Deoxyribonucleic acid of a Sports Action Vehicle.

On the Paceman, nosotros describe the grapheme as a young gentlemen coupe. Information technology is the first Sport Activity Coupe in the small car segment. Also, here we don't have a direct competitor. Aforementioned as with the Countryman where we can name a few, just they are not close directly competitors. MINI also stands for uniqueness in design, to observe its own ways.

From that perspective, Paceman carries over parts of the Countryman, but we brought these vertical lines into horizontal ones. We take more on-roadish auto, with still more footing clearance than the hatch, just nosotros lowered the suspensions, it still has four wheel drive, it's an urban machine but with the ability to accept it to the countryside or the mountains.

The Countryman is our answer to the demands of our MINI clientele who would like to take a car which also fits to the lifestyle of a young family unit. The Paceman is more geared towards single people or couples. But to as well have the possibility to send occasionally ii boosted passengers. We also have lots of cargo space to transport all the accessories for your sport activities.

On the rear end you tin can see the MINI headlights which are normally vertical, but we turned them by 90 degrees to make the car look wider and more powerful. In the front bumper, nosotros take put the foglights, the air duct and primal cooling into a i horizontal flat layout to accentuate the width, the vertical stance.

BMWBLOG: Can you explicate the design philosophy behind some of the unique details on the Paceman?

Marcus Syring: That muscle on top of the rear cycle is besides related to the greenhouse because if expect from the top of the auto, the greenhouse is tampering and it looks similar nosotros are gaining space on meridian of the rear wheel therefore the shoulder is more accentuated. By having only ii doors….run across at half-dozen:20 seconds.

And this is creating this squeamish Zed shape. It emphasizes the width of the automobile, but also symbolizes the front bike drive ability the machine has because 50 up to 100 per centum of the power is transferred to the rear wheel. This is an authentic design since we take a FWD car.

We also have a new estimation of the color green, information technology is not the British racing dark-green. In the automotive manufacture, green is considered a very conservative color. We idea is time to make a new reinterpretation to refresh the color greenish, equally we have done 3 years agone with the Clubman where we have reintroduced Nighttime Browk Metallic which has been gone since mid-70s and we called that colour Hot Chocolate, like the disco band famous in those days. The colour is called Jade Green, it has that nice powder effect and it is modeling nicely the car. We likewise added it to the colour scheme a specific white, this is not a pure white, it has a blue tint, information technology is what you see in pearl shells.

MINI is also famous for employing chrome in a very authentic way, merely RR, Jaguar and MINI left who can have an accurate mode to implement that amount of chrome.

BMWBLOG: It'due south the chrome e'er laid onto metallic?

Marcus Syring: On the regular MINI nosotros have stainless steel, merely this one is real chrome, it looks and feels common cold and draws exactly the shape of these details. These cold metal surfaces, like chrome and silver, they are in contrast with the warm surface of the copper. You tin bring things to life to create differences, warm, cold, brushed and shinny. In improver to that, all things on the exterior, door handle, the lilliputian tap on the filler cap are covered with existent leather, fitting to the overall color and trim scheme. This is the dream of our colour and trim designers to bring a material like that to the outside. On a product car is hard to do, but on a evidence motorcar is a nice touch. Maybe once twenty-four hour period we tin introduce it into production.

In a show machine always is a playground for designers, trying to push the envelope to see what is possible. For the states it was very interesting how well received this new design of the taillights. The interior has chrome finishing, circular elements, even making the car expect wider, pushing out the elbows. Everyone understands it fits to the overall character: on-road, flat, more dynamic.

BMWBLOG: I noticed that MINI cars have a very organic expect. Where do you await for inspiration outside the automotive world?

Marcus Syring: For this form language, yous don't have to work with hard edges, flat surfaces to make the car look masculine and strong. Masculine means muscle, it is deriving from nature. But offground shapes are looking a bit undynamic, the secret merely is that in space where you have the X, Y, Z axles, i direction has to be straight, with loftier tension so you lot tin can do the other things very round. It really depends on the department yous are making. Round is non really dynamic, but here you can bring it to alive. The door section is very pronounced towards the waste line, but it's getting stiffer and stronger towards the sill. It shows strength and masculine attitude.

Our design inspiration is not coming so much from other cars because it would mean information technology's 2nd hand inspiration. In MINI design we are trying to e'er notice a unique mode. If you lot look at mainstream cars today, they are all well executed, but more or less they are showing the aforementioned design theme. Each designer is inspired by different things, I personally I am very much so interested in product pattern, architecture and mode for instance. If I come up to an automotive automobile show and I have the chance to meet colleagues from other brands, I inquire them what was their inspiration so I can understand their kind of thinking, method, strategy.

Equally a designer you lot have to have three abilities: to walk around with open eyes, to absorb everything and to question things, and the ability to imagine something and to show a solution. This is what you need to be a creative designer.

BMWBLOG: In terms of the broader MINI brand, what practice you run across as your vision for the future of MINI?

Marcus Syring: Since x years ago when we returned with the new MINI to Detroit, we had a sustainable growth, not only in numbers but also the number of models offered, seven bodystyle including the MINI Coupe coming afterward this year, MINI Roadster next year and followed by the Paceman. MINI is really brand, non like in the beginning people said MINI is one-trick pony, two separated lineups, the one of the hatch and Countryman.

I expect that nosotros still take to listen to our friends, customers, what are their demands, expectations. They don't requite us the solution, but rather give the states hints. Like they did before, "nosotros at present have a family, the MINI doesn't fit anymore", and the Countryman was born. Our goal is to always have the unique respond for the demands of our fans. Someone said, MINI, "you don't accept customers, you lot have fans". This is somewhat of a brunt, but at the aforementioned time it'south our duty.

BMWBLOG: Do you look directly at the original MINI before you pen a new MINI car?

Marcus Syring: I still have a MINI archetype at domicile in my garage. We are making sure that it's somewhat linked to the
archetype MINI. The Countryman shares details and some surface treatments with the hatch which is connected to the original MINI. We always connect the chain.

Earlier we get-go to sketch we think about the character the new car should take. We also imagine how that car would fit in the earth, practice we meet it in the countryside? In the mountains? In front of the coolest gild in downtown? In the nicest shopping surface area in front of boutiques? Then we have a film of the character of the car and we keep with the drawings.

BMWBLOG: So yous mention the enthusiasm of typical MINI buyers and the obligations yous feel y'all take to maintain their enthusiasm and trust. Start of all, do y'all use feedback from typical MINI drivers?

Marcus Syring: A lot. The typical MINI driver is very much so into modern media and they have the MINI blogs and are talking and writing most everything nosotros are doing. Then nosotros are looking at this sources each day, each week to exist updated with the discussions going on. It is very helpful and then therefore nosotros are getting the necessary information to figure out what are their demands, where are nosotros weak, what exercise we demand to improve, what concept might be interesting for them…They are not giving us the respond, only they give us tasks.

BMWBLOG: Is the MINI Countryman based on customer feedback?

Marcus Syring: Not entirely, just it was very helpful. Over time, we collect and so many ideas, demands, input and nosotros comprise them in the concept. But for certain we also accept a piffling idea from the pattern, marketing and technology side on what could the car wait like.

BMWBLOG: How accept you been able to manage to overstate the vehicle without losing dynamics and character of that original small MINI machine?

Marcus Syring: We are fighting for curt overhangs which is harder year-past-year because of the more and more upcoming safety regulations, crash and pedestrian. We effort to take short overhangs with the biggest wheels on the very corners of the car, and this is non only looking, but drive dynamically also. Overall it's not a matter of size, but one of relation. Other cars in the small car segment are growing from generation to generation even more than we are doing. And we still take the shortest front and overhang. A motorcar like the classic MINI you tin can never bring to the market anymore, it is totally unsafe. All the new concepts take to be safe, comfy and have all the demands and electronics the customer would like to bring in. Fifty-fifty if we would similar to exercise the classic MINI, we would end up with a car that measures 3.6 meters which might be too small today.

BMWBLOG: Allow'south change gears a little bit and speak well-nigh the MINI Electric Scooter Concept. Did you accept a hand in the design of that concept?

Marcus Syring: This was also done in our MINI Design section but also nether the guidance of Adrian Van Hooydonk. He was very much so involved in the process. I call up information technology was a surprise to the public in September when we showed it to the public in Paris. Information technology shows we are not only thinking well-nigh cars, but besides about mobility.

BMWBLOG: Are at that place whatever item design highlights you can mention about the electric scooter than stand out in your listen?

Marcus Syring: We tried to brand that vehicle as small as possible, just also safe and comfy. In that location again we observe the success factors all the MINIs take. Information technology looks as information technology could have drive quite well, it'southward unique in design and you have lots of variations in individualization. This is what scooters take in mutual with all the MINIs.

BMWBLOG: Can y'all tell us more virtually yourself? What else y'all have in your garage correct at present?

Marcus Syring: A regular MINI hatch for my wife and a MINI Countryman as the family car. So what nosotros accept washed to offer customers a car for immature families, I have to try it on myself. It would be unfair if I would bulldoze a v Series Touring or an X5, then saying, "come on guys, the Countryman can cater to a small family."

BMWBLOG: What do you bask doing in your spare time?

Marcus Syring: Well, not so much time left, merely I have to say my task is my passion and my hobby. What I enjoy the nigh is designing and our team is so small, that I am able to still make some drawings, not simply to manage. Bated, I like hiking, sports, snowboarding and of course, music.

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Source: https://www.bmwblog.com/2011/03/05/bmwblog-exclusive-interview-with-marcus-syring-mini-head-of-exterior-design/