Dee series
From 2025, a new series of purely electric models will enter BMW under the historically sound name ‘Neue Klasse’. The first of these is a 3-series-like, more or less the production model of the i Vision Dee concept car.
Highlights
- Production version i Vision Dee
- First model on new EV base
- Technological tour de force
So far, BMW mainly supplies EVs based on existing models, such as the iX3 and i4. That saves money and means that the customer can ‘just’ order an electric 4-series or X3, nice and confident. The outlandish BMW iX is the exception to that rule, but even that car shares its base with a range of conventionally powered models. That has drawbacks. Such a technically relatively traditional car is inevitably a compromise, because the platform and body must be suitable for all possible powertrains. A platform developed only for electric cars is lighter and more efficient. Moreover, such a base offers more freedom when it comes to the use of space. Nose and butt can be kept nice and short, while the wheelbase can be stretched extremely. For example, compare a BMW i4 from the side with a Mercedes-Benz EQE.
The sales department is probably also quite enthusiastic about the idea of ​​offering both traditional-looking and futuristic ‘dedicated’ EVs. After all, as a brand you offer more choice, something for everyone, and that should attract more customers. It is therefore not surprising that BMW in Munich is also working hard on a new, purely electric platform. The manufacturer wants to use this for a series of electric models that will be called ‘Neue Klasse’. Anyone who knows BMW a little knows that the brand refers to that other time when a new model series meant a complete revolution for the brand, in the 1960s.
BMW ‘Dee Series’ (Illustration: Larson)
Hofmeister
Unlike then, SUVs are now part of the Neue Klasse, but the sedan is not forgotten. In fact, one of the first models will be a four-door 3-series-like. Then the sum becomes very easy, because with the i Vision Dee concept car we already saw a preview of such a fully electric, relatively compact sedan at the beginning of January. It therefore seems likely that BMW will transfer the lines of this concept car to the production version, which would then look something like the car on these pages. The still nameless Neue Klasse EV is clearly different from the existing BMWs, but it is also unmistakably a BMW. With its Hofmeister kink (introduced on that earlier Neue Klasse), Sharknose-like front and strong wedge shape, it is in many ways a lot more classic in shape than many current BMWs, but at the same time very modern. This is in turn due to the remarkably low shoulder line, the aforementioned short nose and the long wheelbase. The kidney grille will have a very different shape than we are used to and is also completely different from the huge grille on the 4 Series and the iX. Instead of in height, the largely closed ‘grille’ is spread out in width. It also includes the headlights, which can be integrated in a new, special way thanks to LED technology.
Head up display
BMW mainly used the i Vision Dee to show all kinds of innovations and gadgets. We do not expect to see the color-changing paint and dimmable side windows on the production model immediately, but that car will also be a technological tour de force. One concrete example of this has already been announced: a head-up display over the entire width of the windscreen. This projection could therefore also take over many functions of the traditional set of instruments and may even make that screen superfluous. This entails a lot of freedom for the designers.
If BMW takes this concept far enough, it is conceivable that the innovative EV will have a revolutionary interior, remarkably ’empty’ and with a completely new operating concept. The Neue Klasse also promises a lot under the skin. BMW speaks of a new generation of batteries with 30 percent more range and 30 percent shorter charging times than with the current ones. What the first car from the Neue Klasse can do exactly when it comes to range, power consumption, fast charging and sprint times will probably only become clear in 2025. Then the production version sees the light of day, at the same time as a sporty SUV in the same series. So please be patient, although BMW promises that more information about this extremely interesting new model series will be released in the course of 2023.
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– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl