BMW previews the design and technology of its future models with the Vision Neue Klasse

For some time we had been hearing about the BMW Vision Neue Klasse: on the one hand, the front-end design preview , and on the other, that it could have up to four motors and more than 1,300 CV… But now it is here. It was unveiled at IAA Mobility 2023 in Munich, and the truth is it has left no one indifferent, at least when it comes to its exterior design. It remains to be seen how far the German brand will incorporate the design language shown by the prototype. A new design that makes the Vision Neue Klasse hard to recognise as a BMW.

New generation of the BMW iDrive control system

It seems as if the brand wanted to start with a clean slate. It is true that the reinterpretation of the brand’s design elements retains the split grille with the characteristic kidneys. A grille that, freed from the need to let air through to the engine because it is an electric car, takes on new functions as a means of interacting with other road users through three-dimensional animations, a feature repeated in the rear light clusters. Personally, the 21-inch aerodynamic wheels are what I like most about the car. I can’t quite see how the waistline has been resolved, in an attempt to lighten the sheet-metal silhouette and give more prominence to the glazed surfaces.

What does seem certain is that we will see more and more virtual exterior mirrors using video cameras instead of the classic mirror-type mirrors, which have a very negative effect on aerodynamics. We will see how BMW resolves it, since none of the ones I have tried so far, whether on the Audi e-tron, the Honda-e or the Hyundai Ioniq 6, has fully convinced me; for me, the best are those of the latter.

As for the interior, there seems to be no turning back. We are heading toward a future, already present for many, as in Tesla, in which screens steal all the attention from physical controls, leaving only the buttons on the multifunction steering wheel and increasingly entrusting operation to the voice control system with digital personal assistants. BMW is following this trend with the new generation of its iDrive, which was controversial in its first generation precisely for the opposite reason: the complexity involved in navigating the menus and the number of functions and controls grouped around the central rotary knob. It has evolved over time, but there is no trace of that here anymore.

The heart of the system is now the so-called BMW Panoramic Vision, a supplement to the traditional head-up display that projects information at the driver’s eye line across the full width of the windscreen. In addition, both the driver and the user can interact with the system using gestures to send content from the central multimedia screen to BMW Panoramic Vision.

Sixth generation of BMW eDrive

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As for the propulsion system, BMW has given few clues so far, beyond the fact that the Vision Neue Klasse debuts the new generation of eDrive technology. The brand promises batteries with newly developed round cells that offer an energy density up to 20% higher than current prismatic cells. In terms of driving and everyday use, this translates into ranges up to 30% greater when adding the efficiency gains of the motors and aerodynamics, as well as charging speeds up to 30% faster.

BMW Vision Neue Klasse – Image gallery