BMW Vision Neue Klasse: this is what new electric BMWs will be like!

Highlights BMW Vision New Class

• Concept car introduces new design language
• Concrete preview of EV in segment 3 series
• ’30 percent greater range, 30 percent faster charging’
• Introduces successor to iDrive

“BMW reinvents itself,” BMW headlines above the message with which it makes the Vision Neue Class public. The Germans thus emphasize what the concept car symbolizes: the future of the brand. In that BMW future you will find many electric models, but also a completely new design language.

New Class: dedicated electric

Anyone who walks into the BMW showroom while hunting for a new electric car will encounter a large selection of electric cars. From the iX1 to the iX3 and from the i4 and the i7 to the iX. The first four are electric versions of models that you can also get with combustion engines. Although the iX is only available with electric powertrains, the car does share its base with models that are also available with petrol and diesel engines. The Germans firmly believe in what they do The Power of Choice to call. In Munich they are also interested in a modular platform specifically developed for electric cars. That will happen around 2025. BMW’s modular EV base will then serve as the basis for cars under the brand. New Class scissors. That name is of course a reference to the series of models of the same name from the 1960s and 1970s. The two models of the Neue Klasse have already been announced: an electric sedan in the 3-series segment and a ‘sporty SUV’. This Vision Neue Klasse obviously looks ahead to the first, but it also broadly gives away what you can expect from the other Neue Klassees in terms of design and technology.

In China, BMW already sells an electric version of the 3 Series: the i3.

BMW could really use an electric sedan in the 3-series segment in Europe. In China, BMW sells an i3 electric variant of the current 3-series, but it is not available here. The European electric equivalent of the 3 Series would be a direct answer to the Tesla Model 3 in Europe – even more so than the i4.

Design

The BMW Vision Neue Class builds on the i Vision Dee that the brand presented in January this year during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. In fact, not much has changed in the past eight months. The Joyeus Bright painted Vision Neue Klasse has to do without the cheerful sticker work and cheerful color schemes of the i Vision Dee and is generally more concrete. The basic shape of the car has remained unchanged, the front and rear are less conceptual and the Vision Neue Class is equipped with an interior.

The Vision Neue Klasse is a more concrete version of this i Vision Dee

The silhouette of the BMW Vision Neue Class is interesting, to say the least. The car has a strongly sloping snout, which dives deeper and deeper as it heads and even leans slightly forward. The straight shoulder line naturally ends in a Hofmeister kink. At least as striking is the slightly sloping buttocks that the 5-series already had. If you look through your eyelashes, you may see influences from the BMW E21 – the first 3-series – in the design.

Anyone who is not a fan of the deeply swooping kidney grilles that BMW puts on its models can breathe easy. Although we cannot rule out that future BMWs will receive this, we certainly don’t see any of that in this fairly concrete vision of the future. The two components of what was previously a traditional grille are spread across practically the entire width of the snout. The headlights are no longer housed on either side of it, but are now part of it. BMW’s classic round and later angular ‘double headlights’ make way for two diagonal LED stripes. The BMW must be able to send signals to the outside world with both its headlights and taillights. So more than just lighting. BMW even promises extensive visual welcome scenarios that also include lighting at the bottom of the side windows. Go ahead.

BMW Vision Neue Class

Just like the front of the Vision Neue Klasse, the back of this study model is also a more concrete version of the buttocks that you saw on the back of the i Vision Dee. The taillights are high in the rear and – like the headlights – are filled with diagonal LED stripes. The rear is also noticeably devoid of design technical trinkets.

Don’t like the Vision Neue Klasse? Then you probably won’t be a fan of the future BMWs. BMW says that the Vision Neue Class introduces a new design language for the brand. So you’re going to see a lot of it again. BMW describes its new corporate identity as “[…] with large surfaces and only a few character lines that have been reduced to the essence.” Less visual fuss.

Up to 30 percent greater range

What electric BMWs of the New Class will soon have to offer you? According to BMW, at least considerably more than the current models. The brand says that its future EVs can charge 30 percent faster, have a 30 percent longer range and are 25 percent more efficient. New Class EVs will have round battery cells with a 20 percent higher energy density than the cells it currently uses.

BMW has not yet released more detailed technical information. We do know that the Germans say they have paid a lot of attention to keeping the vehicle weight manageable, to aerodynamics and to the heat management of the batteries.

Good luck with your search for physical buttons.

iDrive replacement

Do you like to press buttons or slide sliders? Then just walk around the Vision Neue Klasse in a huge arc. BMW proudly reports that it “[…] analogue operation has been reduced to a minimum.” The interior is therefore almost completely devoid of physical push or rotary buttons. In the very minimalist designed interior we see a display in the center of the dashboard and on the steering wheel we encounter touch-sensitive buttons. Many There doesn’t seem to be anything more to it. Seems, indeed.

The ‘BMW Panoramic Vision’ makes its debut in the Vision Neue Class. This means that hardware and software project information across the entire width of the windshield. The driver can move what is on the central screen to the ‘Panoramic Vision’ with a swipe gesture. The co-driver must also be able to see these projections. BMW Panoramic Vision will be an addition to the Head-Up Display that Neue Class cars are also equipped with.

BMW Vision Neue Class

The Vision Neue Klasse not only has to do without buttons, but also without leather or artificial leather. The show car simply has fabric upholstery. The interior is further enhanced by extensive mood lighting. We also encounter a shiny lever in the interior to select the direction of travel and there is a compartment in the center tunnel in which you can charge your phone. Because the two front seats are each on only one rail, the rear passengers should benefit from extra legroom.

What do you think of the BMW Vision Neue Class and the new design language that BMW presents with it? Let us know in the comments!