Break with radical, shocking design
BMW recently showed the i Vision DEE. Now the brand presents the seemingly identical Vision Neue Klasse Concept. After the repeated attacks on our minds by BMW Design, you would expect this Neue Klasse to prove that the brand has still lost its way. Looking at this design, however, it’s clear that BMW is onto something this time. This design challenges the – justified – prejudices we have about the terrible BMWs of recent years. The design is a break from those radical, shocking cars. With the Neue Klasse, BMW no longer jettisons all the former BMW design idiom. The car is therefore no longer just confrontational and disgusting, but even slightly stimulating. Car designer Niels van Roij about the Neue Klasse.
The shift to electric propulsion is forcing BMW to reconsider what it stands for and revise the unique selling points of its cars. The turnaround has clearly been a struggle.
New Class
The ‘New Class’ is a well-chosen, historically relevant name for this special model in the history of the brand. The choice of a classic sedan model instead of an SUV to herald this new class is extremely refreshing. This shows the love for sports sedans such as the 2002 and the 3 Series, as well as BMW’s willingness for real innovation.
This innovation starts with the proportions.
DEE and Neue Klasse both have a classic 3-box design, but each has been interpreted in a different way. The DEE has a shorter wheelbase and extremely short overhangs front and rear. Within the design of the Neue Klasse, despite its concept car existence, considerably more production car regulations appear to have been implemented. The bumpers are much larger, with room for heavier subcutaneous crash structures. The DEE has virtually no rear overhang and lacks the sturdy crash unit – cleverly disguised as a diffuser – behind the dark plastic.
In the field of surfacing there is an even larger break visible in the Neue Klasse compared to the DEE. A break with both the overly sterile DEE skin and the over-stimulated status quo of applied surfacing on current production BMWs. In addition, the gimmicky and useless application of screens over the car has disappeared and a better, but not perfect, surfacing has clearly been applied to the Neue Klasse. Ideas, features and details lost in recent BMW production cars have also made a comeback. The athletic stance and the subtly more voluminous surfacing compared to the DEE with the horizontal character lines are examples of this. The graphics in the nose are also more civilized. They are reminiscent of the beautiful E30 3-series from the 1980s, without being too closely linked to it. The somewhat simplistic lines of the headlights within this graphic element leave something to be desired and the stern is also sub-optimally drawn.
The entire nose is tilted forward, with the well-known 70s and 80ssharknose as result. A sturdy spoiler made of contrasting plastic is mounted underneath. However, the Neue Klasse is more than retrospective design. Typical BMW elements are being directed into a fresh future. The modest, refreshingly minimalist body, sculpted with virtually no character lines, is diametrically opposed to the evil monsters that currently populate BMW’s showrooms.
Openness not seen since E30
This design as a whole therefore fits better within the parameters of what a BMW should be and is drawn with relevant proportions throughout. The large windows all around, claimed to be close to those of the production model, create an openness not experienced in a BMW since the E30.
Within the traditional sedan body style, designers have developed the packagingbenefits of electric vehicles are fully exploited. The 21-inch wheels have been pushed to the outer corners of the car, lengthening the wheelbase, especially towards the rear. A longer one dash-to-axle ratio would have been even better. However, the overhangs are kept to a minimum, resulting in a good one stance. In addition, the long wheelbase provides space for the battery under the floor and creates a more spacious passenger compartment.
Has BMW finally got it again? After all, the Vision Neue Class has more subtlety and refinement than we have seen coming out of the BMW Design studios in a long time. It is too early to judge this definitively. The Neue Klasse remains a concept car, with shortcomings. However, the model is a promising sign of what could come.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl