{"id":1953707,"date":"2026-05-25T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-05-24T21:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1953707"},"modified":"2026-05-25T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2026-05-24T21:00:00","slug":"heres-what-minis-new-design-boss-thinks-of-flush-door-handles-and-giant-touchscreens","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=1953707","title":{"rendered":"Here\u2019s what Mini\u2019s new design boss thinks of flush door handles and giant touchscreens"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Holger Hampf is now the big boss of shapes and colours at Mini, but the former president of BMW\u2019s Designworks consultancy doesn\u2019t come from a traditional car design background and actually first trained as an industrial designer.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So, after he told us all about his vision for the future of Mini<\/a>, TG decided to put to Hampf some controversial car design tropes to see where he stood\u2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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TopGear.com: Pop-out door handles.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Holger Hampf: My Mini answer would be proper door handles, for sure. I like to cook; I like to be in the kitchen. I hate kitchens without door handles. It\u2019s also very fitting to Mini, because a function needs to be obvious. A door handle can be a piece you really love to touch.<\/p>\n

Full-width infotainment screens.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Not Mini. Mini has to strike a good balance between an analogue feel and a digital offering. That\u2019s reason number one. But number two would be that it\u2019s a small cabin and I find it overwhelming if there’s too much digital surface in a Mini.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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I’m very happy with the round display. I think that was the right step. It’s the first and still the only in the industry. So far, it hasn’t been copied. Maybe others are scared of a round interface? I’m very proud of it.<\/p>\n

Buttons.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Buttons are important. We have a good starting point at Mini. Here our history gives me a good foundation to start with. Is it the end of the toggle bar? Hmm, I\u2019ll leave that out. But I think again, analogue means physical buttons, digital means display. We need to strike a good balance between the two.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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We are also experimenting with information in front of the driver. We find that that remains very important. A central display very often is distracting. The right information in the right place at the right time in a car makes it a safe environment, and I’m very committed to that.<\/p>\n

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\"Mini<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Super streamlined EVs.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

[Long pause] Hmm. At first I wanted to say, \u2018not my cup of tea\u2019, but there was a car from General Motors in the 90s, the EV1, and I really loved that thing. That had a teardrop shape and was super aerodynamic with a drag coefficient of zero point something.<\/p>\n

So, I wouldn\u2019t want to say that I hate this stuff or that it\u2019s not Mini. With the electric Cooper we even tried to give it that feel of efficiency, smoothness and cleanliness [by blanking out the front grille and removing the wheel arch spats]. I like some of these things.<\/p>\n

Deleted rear windows.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Replaced by a camera? Difficult. Speaking as a form and function type of person \u2013 and maybe it\u2019s me and I\u2019m too dumb for it \u2013 but I like the analogue. Digital rear-view mirrors and side mirrors are not necessary.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Polestar<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Oversized wheels.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Maybe it\u2019s the automotive designer in me, but I like big wheels. Everyone likes big wheels. But again, there is a middle ground. Sometimes I look at old 13in or 14in Mini wheels, and I think they\u2019re really cool but only on a very small car. Today they wouldn\u2019t work. If a modern car comes with too small wheels, it looks really dorky. But too large is also not good, especially on concept cars, I sometimes think \u2018oh, come on guys\u2019.<\/p>\n

Illuminated badges.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

My answer would be \u2018a sea of sameness\u2019. You see this once and a week later you see it five times. To me, these things are very dangerous because everyone seems to have the same idea, and then everyone has a lit-up logo and front light bar.<\/p>\n

And look at some of the brake lights on cars right now. I think it\u2019s very important for Mini to keep the signature that it is known for, that every five-year-old can differentiate from other cars; the two round headlights, the grille and maybe auxiliary lights.<\/p>\n

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\"ID<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

I do the test with the design team when we talk about a new design or the next generation of Mini. I have them sketch something as a proper car design sketch, and then the same thing on a dark piece of paper just with the light signature as it would look during the night.<\/p>\n

I want to see the Mini. Some of these things like light bars and lit logos \u2013 as a personal answer \u2013 I\u2019m not a fan.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Holger Hampf is now the big boss of shapes and colours at Mini, but the former president of BMW\u2019s Designworks consultancy doesn\u2019t come from a traditional car design background and actually first trained as an industrial designer.\u00a0 So, after he told us all about his vision for the future of Mini, TG decided to put […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[226,237],"class_list":["post-1953707","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-crawlmanager","tag-topgear-com"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953707","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1953707"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1953707\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1953707"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1953707"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1953707"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}