Yes, doubt it: Vision Neeuclasse is no longer just a concept car. It reveals the next generation of the 3 Series model, the spearhead of BMW's new generation of electric vehicles and one of the most important models in BMW's history. The future starts ...... here
The genes of the 3 Series flow through modern BMWs in the same way that aristocratic blood flows in the blood of royalty. Just like the Golf in Wolfsburg and the 911 in Stuttgart, its best-selling models carry the DNA that defines the Munich brand. Therefore, it is not surprising that when it comes to replacing the backbone of its range, BMW takes its responsibilities as a major innovator seriously.
The Vision Neue Klasse (yes, the German equivalent of "New Class") is a concept car that is about to go into series production and heralds a new chapter. It's not an intergenerational evolution, it's not a whim, on the contrary, BMW likes to call it a "gentle refurbishment". There is no doubt that the changes we are about to experience are as drastic as any changes envisioned by Chris Bangor, the master of disruptive design in the first decade of the 21st century. That's why this new car looks different from other BMWs and is equipped with hardware that has little to do with the previous ones.
The high windshield and low bonnet pay homage to the classics.
Many loyal fans of BMW have found recent BMW cars to be visually challenging, but those large grilles are kept under control compared to the aesthetic fusion brought by Neueklasse. CEO Oliver Zipzer said the car you see here is "close to production" and that most of its equipment and technical innovations will be in showroom within two years. "It's about the future of the BMW brand, the BMW Group and our product portfolio," he told investors. ”
Such signs have been around for some time. Before Vision Neueklasse, we saw the I Vision Circular and the I Vision DEE – three concept cars launched in just two years, with one of the most important messages: BMW is leaving no stone unturned to achieve a zero-emission future. BMW has set a target of 15 percent of the group's sales this year, and the company is preparing to increase that share as key markets such as Europe are about to ban the use of internal combustion engines, even though the use of engines will continue for at least another decade.
It's not an intergenerational evolution, it's not a whim.
With the i Vision Circular, BMW has demonstrated its thinking on sustainability and the use of the most advanced materials. In I Vision DEE, it highlights the panoramic head-up display and the second generation of on-demand color-changing technology, E Ink. Now, unveiled at the German International Motor Show in Munich, the Vision Neue Klasse features an advanced electric vehicle architecture that incorporates breakthrough technology in a low-drag body. Just as the original Neue Klasse spawned the 1500s and 1500s between 1962 and 1972 and saved the struggling automaker, its successor aims to chart the course for BMW for the next 20 years.
Like stepping stones to the future, the three concept cars take us on a long journey: the Vision Circular is the first to introduce a redesigned front and rear end, which is very eye-catching, not only with physical lights and grilles, but also with an idea of how the headlights, taillights and auxiliary graphic elements will appear on the outside. The Vision DEE incorporates these elements into a larger sedan body with proportions very similar to the other model that got BMW out of trouble, the 02 Series produced between 1966 and 1977.
As the last of the three, the Vision Neus Klasse extends this new design language to the 4,750 mm long body of the 3 Series sedan. But wait a minute: doesn't the i4 have such a design today? It has but it doesn't. The i4 still uses the older CLAR WE conversion platform, which also supports the 7 Series and i7 models, as well as the ix1 and ix3.
However, from 2025 onwards, all future BMW electric vehicles will be switched to a new dedicated architecture and will no longer be able to adapt to internal combustion engine or plug-in hybrid applications. This neueklasse matrix will feature four different wheelbases over the next four years to underpin much of BMW's automotive lineup, from the humble 1 Series to the 3 Series at its core, to the domineering X7.
By adopting a new language of light, the car is one step closer to becoming a sentient creature.
The Neueklasse concept car has a huge responsibility to prepare the world for the technical and stylistic approach of the new 3 Series, which accounts for a quarter of BMW's global sales. Design Director Adrian Van Hojtenck describes his team's electric 3 Series Sneak Up as "sporty, compact and elegant": a characteristic set of lines and surfaces creates a subtle and earthy look with perfectly balanced proportions.
We consider ourselves Germany's southernmost car manufacturer, which explains why Neue Klasse strives to capture one of the quintessential traits of Italian design masters or giants such as Giugiaro, Floris, Broadcom, Michelotti and Pininfarina – a sense of cool languidness and refined lightness – all of which have served us in the past. ”
That's a bold proposition for a sedan with such sharp angles. Perhaps the most obvious nod to BMW's long and storied brand history is the forward-leaning shark-nosed nose, a must-have element since 1956 when Albrecht von Goerz designed the iconic 507 Roadster. But for the first time, traditional personalization accessories such as the four round headlights and the air intakes on either side of the "kidney" logo are unified in a single area that also houses the autonomous driving hardware, including cameras, radar and lidar. Now the car is cooled by two upright side tubes, a large horizontal hole in the center of the lower part of the bumper and a set of air intakes under the floor.
Step to the rear and you'll find that BMW's well-known L-shaped taillights have been replaced by dynamic full-width light bars that vary in color, depth and intensity. From grand and formal to subtle and soft, to dynamic and sporty, the front and rear of the car can be staged with a variety of visual performances. By law, some dynamic "light shows" are limited to parked vehicles, while others can be triggered while driving, such as when a car communicates with pedestrians, cyclists or other road users. A brief change of light from defense to attack may be more polite than flashing a light to the person in front; Instantaneous visual interactions can make pedestrian crossings safer; The tail light acts as a charge status indicator; Moving spotlights on both sides of the car can safely greet or see the driver and passengers. By adopting a new language of light, the car is one step closer to becoming a sentient creature.
Although the low-pressure E Ink technology, which can change the color of a car at the touch of a button, is still about five years away from mass production, certain applications, such as highlighting the sensor surface of a touchpad door opener, are already present on the Neue Klasse. BMW researchers estimate that in the future, similar technology could turn the rear side window into a temporary multifunctional information board. Although the M and M Performance models will still be equipped with a custom body kit when they launch in the middle of this decade, the specific specifications are increasingly software-driven, with separate front and rear features to distinguish between different trim levels and schemes.
Back in 2001, when BMW introduced its first iDrive system, its rotary controller was jokingly dubbed by some as an inverted espresso cup, and it was at least as controversial and polarizing as the current 4 Series' beaver tooth grille or the 7 Series' horizontally stacked headlights. Twenty years later, the rotary controller has gained widespread acceptance, however, now as a combination of touchscreen, voice control, and gesture commands, it will be phased out in future ergonomic developments.
The knobs, switches, and buttons of the Neue Klasse are unobtrusive, and unfortunately, the range, tilt, and format of the main display are still not fully adjustable. But to compensate, it comes with a 3D animated head-up display, a larger** display, and a less complicated multi-function square two-spoke steering wheel. Also noteworthy is the full-width BMW Panoramic Vision Bridge, which runs along the entire lower part of the windshield, a bit like a scrolling news strip at the bottom of a TV news channel.
Is cinema-grade instrumentation implemented in this car? We've experienced it in the studio, but not on the road yet. The driver's main vision is clear, and we don't feel the pattern is too distracting; Priority data streaming puts critical information below the improved head-up display, and the display can be reconfigured or enhanced from a pool of icons and widgets with a simple two-finger gesture. The panoramic sight bridge has been confirmed for mass production in 2025.
The information display spans the bottom of the windshield.
Virtual reality augmented gauges, improved voice control, multi-mood ambient lighting, and additional personalization modes provide more content, a wider range of options, and delightful new features to create a unique experience for users.
We don't want high tech to dominate the cockpit. Van Hojdonk confirms: "That's why the next-generation iDrive system, pioneered by Neue Klasse, offers a more intuitive and safe approach to vehicle ergonomics and thus minimizes driver distraction." ”
In our experience with Vision Neueklasse, the new chromium is just that, the recycled fibres are the new leather, and the man-made material is the new wood. Although hides and wood are still usable for the time being, the project team prefers to transform old fishing nets into sleek door panels and give tattered fast-fashion garments a second life, transforming them into lemon-soft corduroy seat covers. The first injection-moulded product made entirely of CO2-neutral secondary composites made its debut in Neueklasse, a speaker housing for mandatory pedestrian protection that emits a "buzzing" sound.
The pattern alludes to BMW's classic Hofmeister kink.
Decarbonizing the entire value chain of electric vehicles is a huge challenge. For Neue Klasse, BMW plans to increase the use of easier** non-hybrid materials by 40 percent, reduce the number of parts by 20 percent, reduce weight by a quarter, and introduce standardized joining and disassembly technologies in an attempt to establish a new set of pan-European and even global rules to facilitate the upgrading of important second-life raw materials**. It's a bold vision that looks at how cars are made and what happens to them at the end of their life.
Instead of lightweight but expensive giant aluminum castings, the Munich brand opted for a less energy-intensive, harder composite matrix of steel alloys. Based on internal measurements, the monocoque construction and module-less battery mounting technology, which simplifies the battery pack and reduces its weight by including more cells per module, improves space utilization by 30% compared to the CLAR WE architecture.
Let's put this shocking design aside for a moment and consider the main intent of Neueklasse: an entirely new EV architecture that will power almost all of the group's electric vehicles in the second half of the decade. The biggest innovation is in the battery section, which is the heart of all electric vehicles. BMW claims to have a fifth-fold increase in energy density, with an average WLTP energy consumption of 4 per kWh8 miles, while the current i4 has a (theoretical) energy consumption of 38 miles, which means that the range of the new generation of BMWs should be 30% longer than today's electric BMWs. Charging is also expected to be a third faster.
BMW says the overall efficiency will increase by a quarter thanks to clever thermal management and a standard heat pump. CTO Frank Webb said the key efficiency contributors were, in order, powertrain, low rolling resistance tires, smoother aerodynamics, reduced weight, and improved wheel bearings and brakes.
If you want to learn about the hardware that powers these ingenious devices on the Neue Klasse, get ready for an A-level chemistry lesson. The 800-volt sixth-generation drivetrain marks a shift from prismatic to round lithium iron phosphate and lithium-nickel-manganese-cobalt-oxide batteries that power one to four motors, which, according to insiders, come in two sizes, 4695 and 46120. Thanks to a ventilated bottom and sandwich cooling system, the latest generation of batteries is expected to provide superior thermal performance, which is claimed to significantly improve overall efficiency.
Physical controls are cut to a minimum.
The batteries are manufactured to BMW's specifications at six plants in Europe, China, the United States and Mexico by CATL, EDE and Northvolt. According to engineers, this new electrical architecture is optimized for fast charging and can travel 200 miles in about 12 minutes of charging.
Neueklasse will be built in 10 different Lean, Green and Digital I Factories spread across three continents and is expected to have a wide range of battery and power output configurations to choose from. The scalable battery pack will have an initial power rating range of 105 kWh, according to people familiar with the matter. While the basic single-motor rear-wheel drive model shouldn't need more than 300 horsepower to fend off its main competitor, the four-motor all-electric M3 M4 in development could break the magic barrier of 1,000 horsepower – easily compensating for the 300kg weight loss that comes with those clever new batteries. The popular BMW car of the future seems to guarantee top speed performance.
The neueklasse project is like an onion, peeling back each layer reveals a profound meaning for the BMW car. It is clear that this scalable architecture will cover most of the corners of the model range in the second half of the nearly decade. Don't think it's just a distant dream. According to people familiar with the matter, production of the new i factory in Debrecen, Hungary, is scheduled to begin in November 2024, although it could take nearly a year for the first cars to reach dealers.
The ix3 reflects BMW's approach to developing multiple body styles at the same time, and the electric SUV is currently scheduled to be launched first. Also being launched was the X3, which looks almost identical but is powered by an internal combustion engine, with the visual simplicity of Neueklasse, but is actually based on today's Clar WE platform. Then there's the new 3 Series, starting with an all-electric vehicle with Vision Neue Klasse as its head and set to launch in 2026. The electric station wagon and its internal combustion engine counterpart will be launched in six months.
Although this is a concept car, BMW says it is close to the finished car.
This "all fuel for all" approach continues with the latest 5 Series, Mini Cooper Electric and 7 Series families. This is BMW's strategy to deal with the great transition to electric vehicles. Not all markets want quick access, or none at all, so a variety of powertrains will be available for now, even if the plan is still to go all-in on electrification by the end of the decade.
Standing at a daunting crossroads, BMW chooses to follow its instincts and move forward bravely, rather than cowering. The Neue Klasse project is fast and bold and may unsettle some.
Design accelerates change. Van Hojdonk, whose team was responsible for the design of the Neue Klasse, will unveil this brave new world for us: "The Vision Neue Klasse is very ahead of its time, as if we had skipped a generation of models. Now, will BMW loyalists take this step with them?
Neue Klasse introduces a crisp new design language, characterized by minimalist and smooth surfaces, which design head Domagogie Duke calls a return to simplicity, reminiscent of the 1982 3 Series E30.
People are frustrated with the choices that life offers," says Duke (pictured), "They want to detox, they crave something simple, timeless, that won't go out of style." Neus Klasse will fulfill their wishes. ”
The message is clear: BMW will fast-track the prestigious 3 Series into an advanced new product that matches the next generation of hardware.
So how will these new cars be named? The trademark application indicates that the first X3 series will be renamed the X320 and X330 for derivatives powered by internal combustion engines, while the all-electric ix3 will be renamed the ix330, ix340 and ix350. According to our ***, sedans and station wagons also use this simple naming convention: the 330 is for the model with the engine, and the i330 is for the corresponding electric model.
Text by Georg Kacher
Photo: Alex Tapley, Olgunkordal, trans. Li Rong.