When BMW DesignWorks lead designer Alexandra "Sandy" McGill heard the request from a top entertainment executive to create a custom-colored leather interior for the exec's new BMW, she cautioned that it would entail a bit more than just mixing up some dye.
The exec was designing the car through BMW's Individual Manufaktur program, the only one of its kind, which enables purchasers of BMW's 5, 6 and 7 Series sedans and X6 Series SUVs to fashion vehicles as if commissioning a bespoke suit, with McGill as the tailor. Prices range from an additional $10,000 for stitching and embroidering, up to $150,000 for extensive customization (and that's in addition to buying the car itself — the 7 X-Drive model's base price, for example, is $97,500). McGill works out of the car company's design studio that opened in February in Newbury Park, Calif. Located an hour north of Hollywood, the super-secret DesignWorks has designed under tight security everything from the U.S. Olympic team's bobsleds to Singapore Airlines' first-class cabins.
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