The Munich show is an opportunity for BMW to present a new concept prefiguring its future electric range. Called Vision Neue Klasse, it is inspired by the Vision Dee study revealed at CES in Las Vegas at the start of 2023, making it a little closer to the series.
This new study therefore takes up the notchback silhouette of the Vision Dee, with a dimension similar to that of a current BMW 3 Series (4.69 m) but with reduced overhangs thanks to the specific electrical architecture. The concept also inaugurates the brand’s new lighting signature, with a redesigned two-part grille on the front face to modernize the famous double bean. This serves here as an interactive element (welcome sequence, headlights, etc.) and stretches to the two oblique bars as daytime running lights. The BMW badge on the hood is directly sculpted in the mass instead of being embossed on it, which reduces the number of parts and saves a little weight. BMW specifies that a large part of this concept uses recycled materials, such as the bumpers and sills, on which are engraved the inscriptions “Future is bright” (the future is bright).
The concept pays homage to old BMWs with gimmicks like the Hofmeister Kink, this famous treatment of the quarter panel by a chrome piece reinterpreted here thanks to eInk technology on the glass. At the rear, we find the same principle with thick 3D effect lights to create an impression of depth. They are more imposing than on the Vision Dee concept. A recycled plastic diffuser also appears, while very thin camera mirrors are added to the front fenders. The concept is here mounted on 21-inch aero rims.
The new iDrive interface projected directly onto the windshield
To board the concept, there are no handles. Just approach your finger towards the glass surface, which has the same eInk technology as the Vision Dee concept. The lower part of the window begins to flash white, and the door opens automatically. You then access a very refined and bright passenger compartment thanks to an entirely glazed roof. The four seats are upholstered in a warm and refreshing yellow velvet, which continues on the dashboard and part of the door panels with a textile of the same color. The rest is in a light shade, in particular the aerial central console comprising a single gear ratio selection control and the steering wheel, which receives two unprecedented vertical branches. Finally, an oblique central screen (whose size is not communicated) appears on the dashboard. Running under the future version of BMW iDrive and BMW OS, it can be used in addition to a new head-up display over the entire width of the windscreen.
Thanks to this system called BMW Panoramic Vision, the driver and passenger can interact with the car and observe all driving and entertainment data at eye level directly on the bottom of the windscreen. BMW specifies that the new multimedia interface makes it possible to drag widgets from the central screen to the head-up display: navigation, audio, air conditioning, speed display, etc. The windshield can display up to three widgets simultaneously. BMW believes that displaying camera mirrors on the windshield is not the best solution, but does not rule it out in the future.
A taste of the future electric range
The future is precisely this new “Neue Klasse” family inspired by this concept. The first two models should be this sedan and an SUV close to the current iX3. They would be presented and then put into production from 2025 with ambitious objectives: 25% more efficient electric motors, 30% improved charging speed and 30% greater autonomy than current BMW battery-powered models. In addition, the brand wants to bet on the circular economy (recycling of materials, use of renewable energies for factory production, etc.) and digitalization.
Photos : DR.
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To sum up
BMW unveils at the Munich Motor Show a concept of an electric three-box sedan, more successful than its previous Vision Dee and iCircular studies. The “Neue Klasse” prefigures the style and technology of the future family of electric BMWs from 2025. First meeting.
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