BMW Design Chief David Robb Steps Down; Edgar Heinrich Named Successor

David Robb, the man responsible for BMW‘s split-face motorcycle design, has left the German manufacturer.

A native of Boston, Mass., Robb joined BMW as its design chief in 1993, and over the ensuing 18 years expanded the company’s product line to include the top selling R1200GS, the six-cylinder K1600GT and GTL, and the S1000RR superbike (that’s him on the far right in the picture above).

The 56-year-old’s latest design to enter production are the C600 Sport and C650GT maxi-scooters. It was under Robb’s hand that BMW motorcycles developed their signature split face and asymmetrical headlight designs. Prior to joining BMW, Robb was a designer for Audi and Chrysler.

Robb’s departure was somewhat of a surprise and comes with a bit of mystery and controversy. According to a report by AshOnBikes, Robb abruptly left BMW shortly after the EICMA show in Milan in November after an internal dispute, and the departure was only officially announced now.

Taking over as BMW’s new design chief is Edgar Heinrich, who served under Robb as BMW head of vehicle design motorcycles from 2007 to 2009. In his first go-around with BMW, Heinrich designed models such as the R1100RS, R1100RT, K1200S, K1200R, the HP sportbike and BMW’s Paris-Dakar race bikes. Heinrich was also part of Robb’s design team during development of the S1000RR.

Pictured above, sitting on the BMW S1000RR, Heinrich left BMW in 2009 to become vice president of product design for Indian motorcycle and car maker Bajaj.

“I am very pleased to be returning to BMW Motorrad and having the great opportunity to be involved in shaping the two-wheel future of the BMW Group with an outstanding team,” says Heinrich.

[Source: BMW, AshOnBikes]

By Dennis Chung