BMW’s Anders Warming to head MINI Design studio

Following news earlier today that Australian Max Wolff has been appointed director of design at Lincoln, MINI has also announced that it will have a new head of design from 2011.

Gert Volker Hildebrand has been at the helm of the MINI Design studio for 10 years, and over that time has been responsible for the complete design development of the born-again brand since January 2001.

As well as a number of MINI-based concepts, Mr Hildebrand’s latest works include the third-generation MINI Hatch, Cabrio, Clubman and Countryman. He was also responsible for the MINI Coupe and Roadster concepts that debuted in 2009 and are set for production in 2011 and 2012 respectively.

Mr Hildebrand will be replaced on January 1 by Anders Warming, who is the head of exterior design at BMW Automobiles.

The 38-year-old Dane joined the BMW Group in 2005, and assumed his current role in 2007. Since then, the BMW Z4, 5 Series and the Concept 6 Series Coupe have been designed under his leadership.

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Australian designer’s

The 2013 Lincoln MKS and MKT vehicles unveiled at this year’s Los Angeles Auto Show give us our first indication of the Ford-owned luxury brand’s new styling direction under Australian designer Max Wolff.

The Victorian – who previously worked in design teams at Holden, GM Daewoo Korea and Cadillac –was appointed to the role of Lincoln director of design in December 2010. At the time, Lincoln said its future vehicles would build on its recent designs, with an emphasis on refining the brand’s hallmarks.

Wolff immediately went to work on cleaning up the “deliberately provocative” front ends of the MKS and MKT. He explains every exterior panel from the A-pillar forward is new on the MKS.

Above: 2013 Lincoln MKS

“The styling of the new MKS adds both refinement and elegance to the car while visually lowering and widening the front end,” he said. “The continuous bright surround linking the grille and headlamps is particularly rich and adds something significant to what is already an expressive, balanced design.”

Above: 2012 Lincoln MKS

Wolff said he also set out to change the proportions of the MKT’s face, giving it wider feel that is less vertical and tall.

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Peugeot 508 Touring

It’s the biggest Pug on sale today. And no, we’re not talking about the dog here. The Peugeot 508 has been welcomed by Peugeot dealers in rounding out their offering because it’s a genuine alternative to other large cars.

The cruicial difference with our test car this week is that it’s a diesel wagon. This means it’s a load lugger that’s economical, proving you don’t need to go out and buy an SUV to get the same capability

The 508 works best in Touring guise, as the styling flows better across the back end. The sedan tends to look a little front heavy with its rounded front end, but the larger backside of the wagon balances out the design very nicely. In the Egyptian Blue of our test car and with the contrasting silver wheels, it’s a very good looking jigger.

Inside, the curvy design continues with a flowing dashboard finished in soft plastics. It’s actually very Volkswagen-like in its presentation, echoing the Passat in many ways. It’s very pleasing to the eye, and although there are a couple negatives (the faux carbon fibre trim is very naff, and the cupholders above the stereo could lead to disaster if there’s a spill) the ambience is excellent. Gone is the very French audio stalk behind the steering wheel, with controls now on the wheel itself.

That said, there’s a good amount of room and with the entire roof being made of glass (one of the biggest panoramic sunroofs around) the feeling of spaciousness is tremendous. Boot space is rated at 612 litres, however if the seats are folded flat, the volume grows to a massive 1817 litres (to the roof height).

There are two engine options for the Touring (both in Allure specification). There’s a 1.6-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol and a 2.0-litre turbocharged diesel four. The diesel was in our possession this week, and as far as oilers go, Peugeot can do no wrong. It’s quiet, refined and pulls pretty strongly on the roll.

The six-speed auto is a little hesitant in changing down unless you’ve selected Sport mode (via a button near the shifter). It shows up a fair bit of lag from the engine, especially when accelerating away from intersections. The paddle shifters are superfluous on a car like this too as they don’t respond quick enough.

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