At BMW, the steering wheel has not yet disappeared - it has already changed in appearance with a vertical central branch -, but we perceive that a new step has just been taken towards the virtual world.
Its i Vision Dee (for Digital Emotion Experience) compact sedan concept presented at the Las Vegas Technology Show shows that Munich is ready to change register and give up driving pleasure, its signature and raison d'être, which drives motorists for fifty years.
Oliver Zipse, the president of the German group, did not hesitate to proclaim, during the presentation of his demonstrator, that
“a BMW lives thanks to its unequaled digital performance”.
Should we take this announcement at face value?
The fact remains that tomorrow, that is to say from 2025, the manufacturer, which has built itself around the performance of its engines and the sporting pleasure of its models, will give in to the promises of the virtual world, which will take motorists away from driving a little further.
The head-up display weaves its web
The interior of the BMW i Vision Dee Concept.
BMW
Inspired by the i Vision Circular style exercise, presented at the 2021 Munich Motor Show, its Neue Klasse, a new generation electric car with a monovolume line, will be one of the first BMWs to have a new generation of the head-up display.
Its main characteristic is to broadcast its content over the entire width of the windshield.
In addition to information related to driving, the communication system and augmented reality projection, particularly for navigation, the driver will control entry into virtual worlds from buttons on the steering wheel.
It is to be hoped that they do not disturb the driver, unless the car has switched to autonomous mode.
BMW i Vision Dee.
Fabian Kirchbauer
Launched in 2025, the Neue Klasse will inaugurate cylindrical battery cells to adapt in particular to the platform.
If the diameter of 46 mm is standard, the engineers of the German manufacturer have developed two different heights, depending on the needs.
The composition of the cells has also been modified to increase the energy density by 20%.
Operating with a voltage of 800 volts, the battery will see its recharge time reduced by 30% (from 10% to 80%).
As for the Las Vegas concept, it could inspire a notchback version of the Neue Klasse.