BMW has unveiled today, coinciding with the company’s annual results conference, the new Vision Neue Klasse vehicles with sports aspiration. The company already presented a preview of the brand’s future in the sedan segment with the BMW Vision Neue Klasse at the IAA 2023 in Munich.
Now it is the turn of the successful SUV saga, which was born in 1999 with the launch of the X5. Since then, 12 million units of the BMW X family have been sold. With this prototype, close to the series in 90% of its image and components, according to some indications, BMW illustrates how it sees the future of its X models.
The first thing that stands out is the strong character that the BMW X will show and its clean, monolithic and minimalist appearance. With its increased ground clearance, the all-electric vehicle architecture offers new possibilities for an even more spacious interior. It allows for a long wheelbase, short overhangs and classic BMW proportions.
The large glass surfaces and the transparent panoramic roof have been created to flood the cabin with natural light, configuring an open space that is complemented by warm colored fabrics. On the other hand, the light signature now has a vertical interpretation of the LED units to give it a more distinctive presence.
Highlighted is BMW’s kidney grille, reimagined as a three-dimensional sculpture with vertically aligned and backlit contours. Together, the headlights and grille create a lighting effect that is activated when the driver approaches the vehicle and continues inside.
For their part, the rear lights, which reach to the center, offer a horizontal interpretation of the well-known BMW L shape. These 3D printed elements are individually controlled with variable light intensity to convey a particularly expressive depth effect.
Finally, the flush glass surfaces and the brilliant “Coral Silver” exterior paint give the Vision Neue Klasse X a certain lightness. At the rear of the side windows, the brand’s signature Hofmeister crease is not created by a chrome edge, but by a “reflective print” that forms a transparent or reflective surface, depending on the viewing angle.
Inside, BMW advocates a personalized user experience with the BMW Panoramic Vision, which projects key information across the width of the windshield and will be complemented by the BMW 3D Head-Up Display system. The central screen will be elegantly integrated into the instrument panel, offering the two front passengers optimal access to all information and entertainment functions. The displayed colors are not only transmitted to the ambient light, but also to the backlit textile surfaces of the instrument panel.
For future X models, BMW has announced innovative transmission and chassis control with more dynamic performance, more precision and more efficiency. It is based on a new software control unit developed internally by the BMW Group that will help Neue Klasse vehicles ensure smooth driving at all times.
It will be thanks to four totally new super brains: high-performance computers that will work together intelligently on what, until now, was processed separately. The first integrates the entire kinematic chain and driving dynamics with up to ten times more computing power. The second will allow the next qualitative leap in automated driving.
In the Neue Klasse, overall vehicle efficiency will reach a new level thanks to sixth-generation BMW eDrive technology. In addition to improved e-drive units, it will also incorporate new lithium-ion battery cells, now round, with a volumetric energy density more than 20% higher than previously used cells. And in combination with the transition to an 800-volt system, it will improve charging speeds by up to 30%, allowing vehicles to charge enough for a range of 300 kilometers in just ten minutes. In addition, the autonomy will also be extended up to 30%.
