Now there’s vision... A BMW that will learn to drive just like its owner
If you know anything about BMW, you know the little company that uses the state colours of Bavaria for its logo has reinvented itself multiple times over its 100-year history.
(Exhibit A: Airplanes; Exhibit B: Motorcycles; Exhibit C: Isetta and MINI. I won’t go on.) So it’s no surprise that BMW is pushing its latest creation as the incarnation of the future of mobility itself.
This week in Munich it unveiled the BMW Vision Next 100 Concept, a gull-wing-door coupé gilded in gold paint and triangle crosshatching. It is flanked by wide, saucer-covered wheels and boasts a “windshield” that is actually an augmented reality display.
Executives at the launch said they built the car, which comes with self-driving and automatic-drive modes, because in the not-too-distant future the majority of cars “will probably be completely self-driving.”
“Future mobility will connect every area of people’s lives,” said Harald Krüger, chairman of the board of management of BMW AG. “That’s where we see new opportunities for premium mobility.”
He means that cars in the future will be totally connected to your phone, home computer, tech and entertainment systems, and connected to each other — and that there should be a luxury (“premium”) option for just such those type of cars. Of course. Most of what we know about the Vision Next 100 Concept is 100% hypo- thetical. But dreaming is crucial in this business, and the car is a signal that BMW is doing all it can to stay ahead of everyone else when it comes to what the world will look like for personal transportation 10, 20, and 30 years from now. BMW’s Vision Next 100 Concept comes with a “Boost” mode that enhances regular driving by doing such things as projecting optimal drive lines on the windshield.
In the meantime, the BMW Vision Next 100 will travel from Germany to be displayed in Beijing, London, and Los Angeles over the course of the year.
