The Hofmeister Kink has been an integral part of BMW design for decades. It’s one of those aspects of car design that goes unnoticed by the average road user. Knowing about and mentioning it during conversations makes car enthusiasts giddy. It’s a BMW thing.
If you don’t know what a Hofmeister Kink is, don’t worry. You can’t know what you don’t know. Don’t let any car enthusiast put you down. Here’s a simple way to spot it.
Take just about any BMW from the time they came up with the New Class.
Try and get a side view of the car:
Now zoom in to the rear-most glass panel:
The green arrow’s the Hofmeister Kink. You expect the red line not to be away like that but then it does. Why? It’s a BMW thing. Something to do with them all being rear-wheel drive or whatever. Doesn’t matter anymore because some BMWs aren’t rear-wheel drive.
But you’re not going to learn if you don’t try it for yourself. So spot the Kink on this E39:
Well done! Even when the angle is not quite as extreme, it’s still there at the first bend. Now spot it on this previous gen 5-Series Gran Turismo:
Yes, it’s there! Now spot it on the new “6-Series” Gran Turismo:
Nope. I don’t think that weak looking thing qualifies. The first bend still follows the shape of the coupe silhoutte. The second bend? I don’t know. It looks like an afterthought. I’ve seen Japanese cars with stronger Hofmeister kinks than that.
