Hyundai Poaches Another Top BMW M Engineer For Genesis Development

A few years ago, Hyundai lured famed BMW M executive Albert Biermann from Munich to Seoul. Biermann had been responsible for signing off on all M cars since the E30 M3. Yes, it was a big deal and plenty of eyebrows were raised. And now, as Carscoops first got wind of, another major defection to South Korea from Germany has taken place. Fayez Abdul Rahman, formerly responsible for developing the platforms for models like the 7 Series, X models, and a number of M cars, is now Vice President of Genesis Architecture Development.

In short, he's now a major player in expanding Genesis' lineup from the current three models to six by 2020. Crossovers will be part of that expansion, but there could be a surprise or two as well. What's also interesting is that Rahman's decades of BMW experience will also be put to work on other future Hyundai models. Biermann, for example, is the guy behind the Kia Stinger GT and Hyundai i30 N hot hatch. Both have been very well received. "Mr. Rahman is a world-class automotive engineering expert who has developed and led platform and architecture planning for a variety of performance and luxury models," added Albert Biermann, Executive Vice President of Hyundai Motor Group.

"His experience and knowledge will help us accelerate the development of new Hyundai Motor Group models and play a crucial role in upgrading our technology to move further toward our goal of making class leading vehicles." Only in 2015, Rahman was appointed by BMW as the guy in charge of M Equipment, M Sport packages, M Performance vehicles and BMW Individual for all models. His defection to Hyundai is a big deal and it'll be very interesting to see what he and Biermann come up with next.