luthe.pdf

CLAUS LUTHE

The Silent

GENIUS

Do you know who was head of BMW design prior to Chris Bangle’s era?

No? Well read on to find out all about Claus Luthe, the man behind the 1980s BMWs

O ver the years, the automobile industry

But who was the man who preceded Bangle at

BMW? Who was the man who established that

neat-but-conservative style for which the marque

became so famous? Unless you are a real BMW

anorak you will not know the answer, because he

was one of those quiet achievers who was rarely in

the spotlight. I admire quiet achievers, people who

simply get on with the task at hand with no

fanfare, no histrionics. And for that reason I

admire Claus Luthe. A quietly determined man, he

has avoided the glamour and glitz of the

international spotlight, preferring instead to let his

designs do the talking for him. Interestingly this

quiet achiever was, for many years, the design

director for one of the world’s most extrovert,

high-profile manufacturers – BMW.

Claus Luthe began his career at NSU back in

1958 and retired from BMW in 1990 with a

stint at Audi in between. Luthe’s first contact

with BMW was through Wilhelm Hofmeister who

approached him at the Geneva Salon in 1975. ‘I

was on the Audi stand when he came over and

asked me to meet with him later. When I did he

inquired as to whether I would be interested in

working at BMW. After a brief conversation he

asked me to call him in a couple of months’

time,’ said Luthe, who continued, ‘I did not

believe his proposal so I didn’t call him.’ That

simple question set off a period of turmoil in

Luthe’s life. About four months after that initial

contact Hofmeister rang Luthe at home in

Ingolstadt, the phone being answered by Luthe’s

wife, Trudi, who thought the caller was a

salesman! Apparently he had to go through

has had more than its fair share of

charlatans; smoke and mirrors guys

who have made extravagant claims as

to their achievements. Thankfully most

have a very short shelf-life.

For most of us, though, the person who styled

our favourite car is immaterial – it looks attractive

to us and performs all the functions we want it to,

end of story. Others like to know who designed

their car and seem to feel some affinity to that

person. Where BMW is concerned, the media has

made sure that those who want to know will

realise that the current range of BMWs was

Christopher Bangle. He seems to attract the

media like bees to the honey pot.

JUNE 2006

The E28 was Luthe’s first

BMW design, but he only

tweaked the details as the

shape had already been signed off

by the board when he arrived at BMW

Luthe meets Giorgetto Giugiaro at

the formal presentation of the Torino

Design Award for his E32 7 Series

quite an explanation before she was willing to

hand the phone over to her husband.

It was not long before management at Audi

became aware of the approach to Luthe, and in

particular Ferdinand Piëch who was unhappy

about possibly losing him and was quite blunt

about it. Nonetheless, despite the tense

atmosphere at Ingolstadt, Luthe and Hofmeister

concluded an employment agreement in October

1975 with a view to him starting work in Munich

in April 1976 as Design Director.

Luthe inherited a staff of less than 30 people

in the styling department. One of his first

initiatives was to go out and recruit new team

members. In the next few weeks he enticed

Boyke Boyer away from Ford in Cologne and

Hans Braun from Porsche. Boyer was given

responsibility for the Exterior I design studio,

Braun for the interiors. Modellers, too, were in

short supply at BMW and again a recruitment

drive was set in motion. Within a year Luthe’s

team totalled around 100 people – 25 stylists

and around 75 modellers.

‘At first we looked at recruiting established

designers from our competitors but more and

more I wanted to attract young people from the

universities and various colleges to get new

ideas in our team,’ said Luthe. ‘We also needed

skilled modellers, too, and I followed much the

same strategy there.’

Included in the original team inherited by

Luthe was long-time BMW stylist, Manfred

Rennen, who was placed in charge of the

Exterior II studio. Recruitment really never

ceased as the demands on styling grew, and as

the years passed the team included people like

Klaus Kapitza (recruited in early 1984) who was

given responsibility for the Exterior III studios,

Johannes Hirschler, who had responsibility for

colour and trim, Klaus Gevert whose responsibility

was styling the famous BMW motorcycles, and

Wolfgang Kilian, who was the technical liaison

between styling and engineering. That group of

people would remain the nucleus of Luthe’s team

from 1976 until 1990.

The first BMW that Luthe worked on was the E28,

released in 1981 and roundly criticised by the

media. Not an auspicious start as Luthe conceded

but with the explanation, ‘I knew it was a

conservative style but by the time I arrived the

design had been signed off. I was only able to

change minor details. However, you must remember

it was what the board wanted.’

Much the same criticism was encountered with

the release of the E30 in 1982. Again Luthe was

adamant that the board chose the design they

wanted but in his defence he said: ‘we do not have

to create models that are radically different from the

ones they replace. To maintain our tradition we do

not need to design ‘way out’ designs. The important

thing to keep in mind is to make sure there is

continuity from the old model to the new model. It

is absolutely essential that we build a lasting image

of what a BMW is and not be swayed by ever-

changing fashion trends.’

From the beginning, Luthe enjoyed the full

support of the Board, in particular Eberhard von

Kuenheim. Importantly, he was given as much time

as was needed to get a design right, and a budget

that was more than adequate. However, as he said

with a grin, ‘The caveat was that we had to provide

the board with the best options to carry the BMW

image forward,’ and added with some emphasis,

‘Mistakes in design should never occur!’

As the manager, Luthe gave each designer a great

deal of freedom and independence to produce his

own ideas on any project through sketches and

technical illustrations. ‘I believe this ‘ownership’ of

ideas stimulates the team to develop higher quality

solutions to a given project which leads to superior

team dynamics,’ he said.

With any project, Luthe’s strategy with the board

was always to present three proposals, the ones that

have the greatest potential for further development.

Luthe added: ‘At this stage we would have been

working in close consultation with Dr Reitzle, with

whom I had the most professional of working

relationships and who admired our work.’

The E30 platform became the most exploited to

that time in the company’s history. The two-door

was released in 1982 and was followed by the first

four-door 3 Series a year later: the Cabrio in 1986

and the Touring (wagon) in 1987. Where the original

Touring had been a hatchback development of the

02 Series, Luthe’s team developed a stylish wagon

from the four-door sedan, he commented:

‘Marketing studies showed that there was an

emerging niche for what some people call a station

wagon. But we didn’t want to design something like

the Volvo that was boxy and lacked the style BMW

buyers demand. I think the Touring that we designed

was well accepted by the market, don’t you?’

‘And don’t forget the M3 in that time. The design

team really enjoyed doing that one, too. It’s a very

collectible car I hear,’ said Luthe.

Following the criticism of his first BMW designs

Luthe was determined to push the envelope for the

next generation of 3, 5 and 7 Series, and the

The four models E30 model were overseen by Luthe, but depite critisism from the press he liked the design and is keen to point out that it was what the BMW board wanted

70 BMW car

CLAUS LUTHE

replacement for the 6 Series that had achieved

classic status in its own lifetime.

The first to be released was the E32 7 Series that

was presented to the press in 1986 and was

exceedingly well received and reviewed. Claus Luthe

smiles when he thinks back to the time of its design.

He said, ‘Von Kuenheim stopped by my office one

day and said that he wanted what he called a ‘noble

car’ to really challenge the S-Class Mercedes-Benz.

My designers accepted the challenge and we came

up with a car of elegant style with classic proportions

which became the best-selling luxury car in

Germany.’ The first styling sketches for the E32 were

drawn in 1979, seven years before the car

appeared. This unusually-long gestation was

deliberate according to Luthe, who added, ‘So we

searched for more classic styling that would remain

undated on the market.’

Two years later BMW released the E34 5 Series

which was, to many critics, little more than a

shrunken 7. ‘Not so,’ countered Luthe quickly ‘Yes,

there are some similarities in style, particularly at the

rear (they both featured the distinctive L-shaped

tail-light units) but that apart they are their own

models with their own character.’ Both models were

immense sales successes and were still selling well

when replaced many years later.

Claus Luthe is particularly proud of the E32 7

series, because it won the 1987 Car Design Award

presented in Turin. At the gala presentation he met

and chatted with the famous Giorgetto Giugiaro, a

time that Luthe cherished. So proud was BMW of

this achievement that it presented him with a fully

detailed 1:10 scale model of a 750iL and a replica

of the trophy. Both are displayed in a prominent

place in his Munich apartment’s Hall of Fame.

The E36 3 Series was awarded the Torino Design

Award, too. He smiles and says, ‘You know we had

to fight very hard for the E36 3 Series because

many board members thought it too radical, too big

a step forward over the old model. I actually

prepared an even more radical, aerodynamic

proposal for the presentation that my designers and

I liked, but I knew it would not be accepted.’

The E31 8 Series is a design that he is particularly

proud of too, even though he admits many in the

media disliked it. ‘It was another occasion where we

took a large step forward in design terms from the

classic and much-admired 6 Series. Klaus Kapitza,

who later became the chief designer at BMW

Technik, was responsible for the exterior design. It is

a strong design that I think has matured and is

something of a classic now. I liked it because it was

different and distinctive.’

Luthe’s lasting legacy at

BMW has been the successful

blending of form, functionality

and elegance into every BMW

that was designed on his

watch. So much so that BMW

now challenges

arch-rival Mercedes-Benz

for market superiority

internationally.

When Claus Luthe retired in 1990, after a family

tragedy, he had overseen the completion of the

styling work on the next generation 5 and 7 Series,

the E38 and E39. Both would continue that

conservative extension of the corporate styling

envelope while at the same time develop new

themes, particularly the 5 Series with its coupé-like

rear roofline. Both models, despite some criticism

from the press (mainly aimed at their

conservative design), have been enormous

commercial successes for BMW and their

designs have achieved that timelessness that

Luthe strove so hard for.

But no matter what Claus Luthe’s recent

successes have been, he has been forever

etched into motoring immortality for his

stunning NSU Ro80. Considered somewhat

controversial at the time, it became the

beacon leading all other automobile designers

down the path to aerodynamics, its shape

highlighting one of Luthe’s favourite themes:

Die Keilform (the wedge).

Conceived in 1963 – more than forty years

ago – Luthe was asked by NSU’s Managing

Director, Dr Ing Gerd Stieler von Heydekampf, to

build an car that would showcase the advantage

Luthe’s legacy at BMW has

been the successful blending of form,

functionality and elegance into every

BMW that was designed on his watch

of the Wankel engine’s compact dimensions.

Luthe’s comments would make many

modern-day stylists very envious indeed: ‘I was

free to do as I wanted. There were no boundaries

to the concept because it was not going into

production. Well, not at first anyway. The wedge

shape and its application for aerodynamics

fascinated me and so all my sketches for it

featured the wedge in one form or another.’

Classic two-door E30; Luthe oversees fitting the windscreen into place on a 1:1 scale model of the E30; Luthe and his team who created BMW’s look of the 1980s and 1990s

JUNE 2006

Luthe is particularly proud of the

E32 7 series, because it won the 1987

Car Design Award presented in Turin

Displayed at the 1967 Frankfurt IAA, the Ro80

was the star of the show, especially among the

technical motoring press who raved about it. The

car-buying public wasn’t so enthralled, apparently,

according to Luthe: ‘for most people the car

seemed somewhat strange, a totally different

form from what they were used to. It was not

helped by NSU not having an image as a maker

of luxury automobiles. And the Wankel motor was

suspect, people didn’t trust it yet. I was

disappointed with the initial reaction to it.’

Nonetheless, the Ro80 was a walk-away

winner of the 1967 Car of the Year award,

something NSU’s executives did not expect. That

award catapulted tiny NSU and its small but

brilliant team of designers and engineers,

including Luthe, into the world spotlight.

‘The Ro80 was my work entirely and no one

else,’ emphasised Luthe, clearly indicating that

this is one ghost from the past he wished to

exorcise. Luthe’s first complete car, apart from

rebadging the odd Fiat or two for NSU and

modifying the Sport Prinz coupé body in

collaboration with Bertone to create the Wankel

Spider, was the Prinz 4 of 1961. This Corvair-ish

design evolved into the NSU 1000, TT and 1200

that were good money-spinners for the company.

‘The first sketches and models I did for the Prinz

4 had been approved for production. Albert Roder

and I visited the Geneva Salon in March 1960 and

when we saw the new BMW 700 that Michelotti

had styled I knew that I would have to draw a new

design because ours was too similar!

‘I quickly sketched another design that

Frankenberger (the technical director) approved on

the spot. The first prototype was ready on October

10, 1960, and the first car left the assembly line on

August 2, 1961. Better than anyone can do today!’

Born 71 years ago in Wuppertal, in central

Germany, Luthe lived in Wurzburg for much of his

youth. As a young car enthusiast he admired the

work of Harley Earl and Bill Mitchell at General

Motors. ‘I loved the show cars they did. You

know, I used to spend hours drawing them

from photos in the car magazines. That’s what

inspired me to study to become a car

designer and modeller.’

Luthe lives in retirement with his wife Trudi in

Munich. The stairwell in his neat penthouse-style

apartment is decorated with memorabilia of his

many achievements including a 1:5 model of the

Ro80 hanging vertically on the wall. Ill health has

reduced his mobility but he still enjoys his

grandchildren, music and reading.

The only comment Luthe would make about

Bangle’s BMWs was, ‘I believe he will develop a

new BMW design philosophy that will be quite

different from mine. Whether it will be as good

for BMW we will have to wait and see.’

You gained the impression that he was almost

afraid that all the years of cleverly establishing that

styling continuity so important in BMW’s aura

were in jeopardy

●

NSU Ro80 was all Luthe’s own work ; E34, E36, E31 and E38 were all designed under Luthe’s watchful eye; BMW board initially thought E36 Three was too radical a design

72 BMW car

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