VW Designer Out, Replaced By Bentley Exec

[Auto Styling News]

The Volkswagen brand is replacing its design chief, Jozef Kaban, famous for his retro designs, with Bentley's design boss, Andreas Mindt, according to company sources.

Mindt will take up the post at VW brand on Feb. 1, the sources told European magazine Automobilwoche.

Mindt's successor at Bentley will be Tobias Suehlmann, who currently heads exterior design at the VW Group's ultraluxury brand, people familiar with the matter said. Suehlmann joined Bentley in October 2021, having previously worked at Bugatti, Aston Martin, McLaren and VW brand.

Kaban, who took charge of VW brand design in 2020, will be given a new post within VW Group.

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Auto Styling News is a blog that covers car concepts, newly released models, and the auto industry.

#Bentley Set To Unveil Sexy 6e Electric Supercar [Auto Styling News]

Making its debut at the 2017 Geneva International Motor Show in mid-March, Bentley's EXP 12 Speed 6e concept represents a bold statement on the future of electric cars, and of luxury mobility.

Designed to transform the EV sector in both concept and execution, the EXP 12 Speed 6e fuses the unrivaled hand craftsmanship for which Bentley is famous, with electric performance, heart-stopping design and the range of a true grand tourer.

Bentley aims to create the world's first true luxury electric sports car, Will they succeed? The exterior screams, "Yes, they probably will."

The exterior body is a sleek expression of sports car design, inspired by contemporary architecture, aircraft fuselages and the geometry of the natural world. That's what Bentley's press release states. What it really looks like - in many respects - is the latest version of their Continental. Which isn't bad news by any stretch. Both are utterly gorgeous.

In a clear evolution of Bentley’s design DNA, it takes the brand's trademark muscular haunch and powerline to exhilarating new heights. The short front overhang, long bonnet and wide, planted rear aspect all contribute to an unmistakable sense of speed, while the iconic matrix grille features an exquisite smoked stainless steel finish. Contrasting copper highlights offer subtle acknowledgement of the car’' status as a fully electric vehicle, while an illuminated ‘6’ logo can be seen through the grille.

The tail lamps are smooth ovals that will punctuate the darkness and look like nothing else on the road. That's important, when many luxury vehicles resemble their own company's sub-luxury cars because they raid their parts bin, or somehow ending up like pricier Hyundais.

Throughout the car, form coexists with function to support a more sustainable future. The twin hood scoops, for example, are actually functional, acting as heat sinks to keep down the temperature of the car's batteries and drivetrain, without the need for additional cooling tech.

Like the Tesla and other electrics, the 6e boasts neck-breaking acceleration and all the latest tech inside. Will this be enough to give the automaker an advantage in the luxury market as well as the electric market? Hard to say. All that can be said is this is one sexy beast!

Why #Bentley Passed On Building A Real Winner [Auto Styling News]

The latest and most stunning design concept from Bentley is the EXP 10 Speed 6 Concept, revealed way back in 2015's Geneva motor show. The question must be asked: why hasn't it been built? (There's actually an answer. Read on.)

The Speed Six name recalls the gorgeous sporting Bentley of the late 1920s. And its design also evokes earlier eras.

As one would expect, it's a top of the line luxury sports car. The two-seater may indeed give a strong indication that the company is thinking about a lighter, sportier Bentley to sit alongside the Continental GT grand tourer family. "A bold vision for a brand with a bold future" said CEO Wolfgang Dürheimer, as the car was revealed.

The massive grille, the teardrop headlamps, the wide hood, aggressive rear haunches, heightened by the large tires, are all heart-pounding, pupil dilating features that guarantee the ride will be life-changing. Clearly, this is lightning in a bottle. And anything other than "conventional" or boring, two words easily, and traditionally, given to British luxury cars.

So, where is it? What could delay such a sure thing? Fear. And timidity. And convention.

Instead of pursuing this monster, the company went for a safer track - an SUV. A vehicle no one wanted, no one asked for, but seemed safer. And at easily north of $230,000 a pop, that's a hefty premium for what some might call "just another SUV." While it certainly will have its fans, it honestly looks like just another family mobile, like so many others, and like every other brand has succumbed to over the past decade.

The good news is that the all-new 2016 Continental has incorporated SOME of the looks and flair of the 6, especially those amazing rear shoulders.

But frankly, Bentley should have taken the risk with the 6 - a risk that would have paid off in far more prestige for the brand, and one that could have helped it attract more fans for doing more than "playing it safe."

Bentley EXP 9F SUV Concept to Be Reworked Before 2015 Debut

The near-universal reaction of the automotive press to the Bentley EXP 9F concept car's unveiling at the 2012 Geneva Auto Show was negative, according to several published reports. So much so, that the company now plans to go back to the drawing board and redesign the company's first SUV.

It's just as well. The thing's a dud.

Not only does it resemble a GMC Acadia from the windscreen back, its proportions are all wrong.

Bentley officials are now privately admitting what everyone is saying - that it made a grievous error in design, or as they put it "too heavy-handed." Quite.

To name one mistake, its headlamps are simply too large and too imposing even for Bentley. In fact, just chopping off the front end of its classic Continental design, giving it a garish face-lifting and huge foglamps, then gluing it onto a GMC Acadia-like SUV is hardly worthy of this luxury brand, which would likely charge up to $180,000 for such a vehicle on the market.

The rear, while not overtly offensive, is a bland combination of a BMW and Japanese Sport-Ute, and other than the nice detail work of the tail lamps, lacks something special in its execution.

Company spokesmen are on the record saying it would be the most expensive SUV ever sold. To do that, and do it profitably (and to meet their 2015 launch date) Bentley must get it right. They are, for now, pushing ahead with plans to send the EXP 9F on a world tour of sorts, starting with the Bejing Auto Show late next month, and also putting it in front of current Bentley owners. But surely,  the jury has been tainted at this point and there will be lots of criticism.

But a word of caution to Bentley Motors: There is also some rumbling that the company believes that a redesign will be less "retro" in its styling. While they may have been a bit too slavish in their devotion to Bentley themes in  this design study, one has to remember the experience of Jaguar.

I believed then, as I still believe, that their XF model was too radical for the brand, and went too far towards a "Japanese" look in order to please American and Western European customers (and Japanese ones as well, of course.) In fact, the first model year of that car looked a lot like a Lexus with horrible 1990s Chrysler headlamps attached to a rather Volvo-like grille. Some of that was fixed in Model Year Two, but going too far away from tradition is always a mistake in a luxury car, in my view. And I suspect that view is shared by many of the older buyers who can afford them.

(photos from the Bentley website)