[southlight]

Munich. On 1 March 2011, Karim Habib will take on the post of Head of Exterior Design BMW Automobiles, replacing Anders Warming. The 40-year-old designer already spent the first 10 years of his career working for the BMW Group, during which time he was responsible for the current BMW 7 Series range and the BMW Concept CS. Habib now returns to the Group following an absence of two years.

On completing his studies in California, Karim Habib held various posts in interior and exterior design before being appointed Team Leader, Advanced Design for the BMW Group. Following two intervening career years, he now returns to head the Exterior Design BMW Automobiles department.

“I’m really delighted about coming back to the BMW brand and being given the opportunity to help shape the future of BMW as part of an outstanding team,” says Habib.

“Karim Habib is an excellent designer who has already made a major contribution to the BMW design with the current BMW 7 Series. I look forward to resuming our collaboration,” comments Adrian van Hooydonk, Director of BMW Group Design.


Best regards,
south

[Darkpitiless]

Yes. Finally a designer with some taste.

[DM1]

This will help to improve the F30-32 design in a mayor way, and not to mention the VED car. I like where this is going.

[termigni]

what else did he do besides current 7? 7 looks awesome btw

[kmarei]

can't go wrong with a name like Karim

it actually means generous in Arabic
wish he was in charge of the engine output department

[SHOWTIME]

Respect to him for the position he has but I'm not crazy about the current 7. It's ok, but not as good looking as Benz S-Class or Jaguar XJ... so I really hope he's not going in the same route with the new 3 series.

[uhn2000]

This is massive. Another Lebanese brother ruling design!

[Darkpitiless]

Originally Posted by kmarei

can't go wrong with a name like Karim

it actually means generous in Arabic
wish he was in charge of the engine output department

1000000000000X

[adamm3k]

Great news!!!! Didn't he go to Mercedes, curious what happened there? And, I believe he penned the CS. Let's bring it back to life!

[adamm3k]

Originally Posted by adamm3k

Great news!!!! Didn't he go to Mercedes, curious what happened there? And, I believe he penned the CS. Let's bring it back to life!

Answering my own question. From 2008

Karim Habib, former Team Leader for Advanced Design at BMW, joined Mercedes-Benz earlier this month, becoming Head of Advanced Design at the German automaker's Stuttgart studio. Habib will work under newly appointed Mercedes-Benz Head of Design, Gorden Wagener.

Habib, 38, was born in Beirut, Lebanon and attended elementary school in Iran, France and Greece before moving to Montreal, Canada in 1982. He earned his Bachelor's degree in engineering from McGill University in Montreal prior to studying automotive design.

Following a year at Art Center Europe in Switzerland, Habib studied at Art Center College of Design in Pasadena, CA and began his automotive design career at BMW AG in Munich, Germany, shortly after earning his degree.

Credited for having designed the latest BMW 7 Series and the Concept CS unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show in 2007, Habib's first project working at BMW was the interior of the E60 5 Series.

"BMW was my life for ten years and I thoroughly enjoyed every aspect of it," Habib told us.

Over his decade-long career at BMW, Habib worked on a multitude of concepts and production vehicles as he rose through the ranks within Advanced Design, starting first as an automotive designer, then becoming senior exterior designer of the F01/F02 (7 Series) project, before finally securing the role of Team Leader Advanced Design for the BMW Group.

When asked why he had chosen to leave BMW, a company that experiences very little turnover in its design department, Habib said: "Sometimes in life you have to accept new challenges, go against the grain and expand your horizons."

"Mercedes-Benz is a brand with a lot of history and a lot of opportunity," he added.

In his new role as Head of Advanced Design Germany at Mercedes-Benz, Habib will be responsible for the design and development of the company's experimental cars, which carry the F-designation.

[Mark]

Glad hes back, it was a shame to see his handiwork on Mercedes cars, for example their F800 which had alot of BMW CS elements (not sure if it was because of him or they just "borrowed" his ides), brought a sad tear to my eye.

[Wolf]

Originally Posted by uhn2000

This is massive. Another Lebanese brother ruling design!

+1

[issabmw]

Originally Posted by uhn2000

This is massive. Another Lebanese brother ruling design!

+100000000, proud to be one

[issabmw]

Originally Posted by MarkE90M3

Glad hes back, it was a shame to see his handiwork on Mercedes cars, for example their F800 which had alot of BMW CS elements, brought a sad tear to my eye.

Very good news for BMW indeed.

And yes, the F800 looked a bit too familiar.

[BIMMERMIKE1]

Hire an Italian, best designers in the world.

Originally Posted by uhn2000

This is massive. Another Lebanese brother ruling design!

[BenTrovato]

Originally Posted by BIMMERMIKE1

Hire an Italian, best designers in the world.

This is true! BMW would dominate the planet if they did this.

Nevertheless, glad to see Karim back in business. The F30 may be botched, but hopefully the F32 will be saved.

[XC]

Originally Posted by termigni

what else did he do besides current 7? 7 looks awesome btw

He did the CS Concept

[teezee]

From today's New York Times

December 14, 2010, 3:00 pm
BMW Names New Head of Exterior Design
By PHIL PATTON

Karim Habib was named BMW Automobiles’ new head of exterior design on Tuesday. He will assume the post next March.Karim Habib, the designer behind the BMW 7 Series and 2007 Concept CS, is returning to the brand after defecting in March 2009 to Mercedes-Benz. Mr. Habib, 39, will become head of exterior design, succeeding Anders Warming, who left to lead design efforts at Mini. Mr. Habib had been head of advanced design at Mercedes, working under the design chief Gorden Wagener. Previously, he was team leader for advanced design at BMW.

Born in Beirut, Mr. Habib lived in France, Greece and Iran before his family settled in Montreal. There he attended McGill University and earned a degree in mechanical engineering before moving to the Art Center College of Design’s European campus in Switzerland. He later completed his degree in transportation design at Art Center’s main campus in Pasadena, Ca., then joined BMW.

Mr. Habib was a protégée of the former BMW design chief Christopher Bangle, who sent him to Italy to work with a veteran clay modeler during development of the 7 Series. Mr. Bangle wanted Mr. Habib to balance his sense of engineering by learning the attention to detail, surface and form that characterized the classic tradition of carrozzerie, or Italian coachbuilders. Mr. Habib has said that he was inspired by Munich’s architecture, from its palaces to the soccer stadium of Herzog and de Meuron.

For the 7 Series, he told interviewers that he sought a combination of presence, elegance and sport. The Concept CS, shown in Shanghai in 2007, was widely regarded as a preview of BMW’s future design language.

“I’m really delighted about coming back to the BMW brand and being given the opportunity to help shape the future of BMW as part of an outstanding team,” Mr. Habib said in a press release. Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW’s group design director, added, “Karim Habib is an excellent designer who has already made a major contribution to the BMW design with the current BMW 7 Series. I look forward to resuming our collaboration.”

[pmeloche]

Another brilliant graduate from McGill U. If only they had a good football team.

[adamm3k]

Best news in a long time.

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by DM1

This will help to improve the F30-32 design in a mayor way, and not to mention the VED car. I like where this is going.

This will have little to no impact on those cars. They're planned years ahead. A shift in head design at this late in time can't have much of an effect, if any.

[Year's_End]

Originally Posted by BIMMERMIKE1

Hire an Italian, best designers in the world.

Eh, I think they're a hit-and-miss. Italian design clashes with German design in a bad way. You've got one side that's bursting with emotion, with the occasional oddity that irks, and on the other side you've got calculated, cold, precise lines and spot-on proportions. I think German design should remain calculated, but with that underlying emotional appeal.