Love them or loath them, the current range of BMW’s are almost without exception intelligently engineered, brilliant to drive and fulfilling to own. Nothing wrong with the substance then, but, to these eyes at least, much wrong with the style. And it’s all down to ‘flame surfacing.’ For the uninitiated, the story began in 1992, when American designer Chris Bangle, creator of the wonderfully quirky Fiat Coupe, was hired by BMW to move them away from a ‘one design fits all’ design philosophy and into the 21st Century.

Bangle kept his powder dry for the best part of a decade before a series of concept cars introduced a somewhat unconvinced World to what he christened ‘flame surfacing’, or design that blends curves and organic forms with sharp lines and edges. Just look at any of the current range (and especially the Z4) and you’ll know what I mean. Trouble is, it makes for fussy, and in many cases, dumpy looking cars.