South Africa: BMW M Concept from a Designer Worth Watching

PRETORIA, South Africa — A talented South African, Idries Noah, is making international waves with his eye-catching car designs. The latest is a concept for a BMW two-seat sports car with a look inspired by waves.

Noah's stunning M Concept takes a look at what Bavaria's rival to Audi's beautiful R8 might look like. His realistic computer-rendered 3D model has attracted plenty of interest in car design circles.

"I grew impatient waiting for BMW to bring out an R8 rival, so I decided to design my own version of it," Idries, who is known by the nickname Idi, explained.

"The recipe was simple. It needed to look aggressive, sleek, agile and totally different from anything on the road today. Elements like the trademark grille and hockey stick pillar remain.

"My inspiration for this design, however, came from nature, more specifically water and the way it flows and ripples. The side detailing was inspired by what's called in surfing terms a barrel or tube — it's where the wave is hollow when it breaks."

The M Concept is the latest creation to come from the imagination of this 35-year-old resident of Pretoria, who first hit the spotlight with previous designs like the Ferrari F250 Concept and the Pontiac Firebird GT.

Noah's sleek sports-car designs landed him a job at GM Holden in Australia, where he recently worked for two years as a visualization designer. During that time he helped pen the FR1, a one-off car that saw production as part of an initiative to showcase Australian technology, and also the Holden VE (Chevrolet Lumina).

Having started out by doodling car designs in the classroom as a young boy, Noah now runs his own design, modeling and animation company. Among other things, his firm creates cars for video games. Real-world car design is more of a hobby, he says, and he doesn't aspire to do it full-time; he finds designing video game cars more rewarding as it allows more creativity.

Would he take the design chief job at BMW, though? "I definitely would say yes," Noah says with a smile.

Noah says his favorite car designs of all time include the BMW 507, Mercedes 300SL Gullwing, Ferrari 250 GTO and McLaren F1. Of the modern era, he says he really likes the work Audi is doing, particularly the A5 coupe.

Inside Line says: Proof that with self-promotion and hard work, a designer can get attention even in a place out of the mainstream. — Denis Droppa, Correspondent

Click