Chris Bangle has been awarded the 2012 Lifetime Design Achievement Award by the Detroit Institute of Ophthalmology for his work in vehicle design. EyesOn Design calls on past award winners to vote for the yearly recipient, and this year’s jurors included names like Walter de’Silva, Sergio Pininfarina and Jack Telnack among others. The jurors chose Bangle for his distinguished career that includes time with Opel, Fiat and, most notoriously, BMW. The designer famously redesigned the BMW 3 Series and 7 Series and helped bring vehicles like the X5 and X6 to life.
But while Bangle may have been a polarizing force among BMW faithful, he also had a hand in crafting the Mini line as well as the Rolls-Royce Ghost and Phantom. Bangle’s designs are largely credited with helping BMW overtake Mercedes-Benz as the world’s leading luxury automaker. He currently operates a design studio in Turin, Italy, though EyesOn Design will present Bangle the Lifetime Achievement Award at a black tie event in June at the Eleanor and Edsel Ford House.
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