Hyundai Nabs BMW Design Director Christopher Chapman
Hyundai is definitely making a lot of noise lately in the industry, and this might be their biggest boast yet. Today, they announced that Christopher Chapman has been named chief designer of the Hyundai Design Center located in Irvine, California. Chapman, who was BMW’s Design Director will be responsible for new vehicle and concept designs for Hyundai.
Chapman began his career in 1989, joining Isuzu Technical Center of America and was the designer for the exterior of the XU-1 show car which won Best Concept back in 1993 at the Tokyo Motor Show. From there, he joined the BMW Group at DesignworksUSA in 1994 where he worked on a variety of projects and vehicles including the X5 Sport Activity Vehicle and X Coupe concept car. Chapman and his family also spent two years in Munich, Germany in order to soak in the BMW culture and subsequently, the European one as well. From there he designed the CS1 concept and the 1-Series production Coupe and its variants.
“Christopher Chapman is an outstanding addition to the design team at HATCI,” said John Krafcik, president and chief executive officer, Hyundai Motor America. “We are proud to add such a talented individual to lead the team of dedicated designers at HATCI that will continue to develop innovative vehicles for both the United States and global auto markets.”
Culturally diverse and clearly well-rounded, Chapman has worked for both a Japanese and German automotive manufacturer and now joins the ranks of a headlining Korean one. It will definitely be interesting to see his designs infused with Hyundai’s DNA.
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