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BMW kicked off its centenary year celebrations today (March 7, 2016) in Munich with a lavish exhibition entitled 'The Next 100 Years'. As part of the process, the BMW Vision Next 100 concept car was unveiled, the first in a series of 'Vision Next 100' vehicles that will be revealed throughout 2016.
Exterior
The Vision Next 100 takes the shape of a futuristic coupe, with four gullwing-like doors. Up front, the current trend for wider and lower BMW kidney grilles has been abandoned completely, replaced by an interpretation of the original elongated and upright design - though they're ringed in light to give the concept a unique look, and the colour of the light changes depending on what driving mode the car is in. That grille dominates the front view due to distinctly small main lights. The front end is minimal for a reason, as it contributes to the car's overall low drag coefficient of just 0.18.
But the biggest talking point about the exterior design (and also contributing to the low drag) is what BMW terms 'Alive Geometry'. The bodywork appears to seamlessly envelope the wheels and even when the front wheels turn the skin appears to flex and reshape itself around them to accommodate the movement. Don't expect your next 520d to have such a thing, but as Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design, said: "If, as a designer, you are able to imagine something, there's a good chance it could one day become reality. So our objective with the BMW VISION NEXT 100 was to develop a future scenario that people would engage with. Technology is going to make significant advances, opening up fantastic new possibilities that will allow us to offer the driver even more assistance for an even more intense driving experience."
Interior
More of that Alive Geometry can be found inside the concept, where 800 moving triangles form a large part of the front of the cabin. BMW reckons that, as they move in three dimensions, they can relay information to the driver quicker and more intuitively than standard flat displays and lights. Indeed, the Vision Next 100 has no traditional instrumentation, instead displaying all information on the windscreen, in conjunction with that Alive Geometry.
The cabin seats four, but its layout can be altered depending on the driver's mood, using Boost and Ease modes. The latter is completely autonomous driving, where the steering wheel (an odd-looking device in itself) folds out of the way, while the seats and door panels rearrange themselves to give the interior a more 'sociable' layout. The car can tell the occupants about the surrounding area in this guise too, acting as a sort of tour guide.
BMW hopes the future involves cars that people still want to drive, and that's what Boost mode is all about. Only the important information is fed to the driver, but extras are offered, such as the ideal driving line, turning in point and speed. A video showing this at work reveals that the driver can use all the road like a racetrack as it has information using car-to-car communication to make it completely safe, warning the driver ahead of time when there's something coming the other way.
Mechanicals
As the concept car is pure fantasy, BMW didn't even pretend it had any actual powerplant. When questioned about it, personnel suggested it would be zero emissions yet dynamic.
Anything else?
BMW confirmed that three other 'Vision Vehicles' would be unveiled this year, one from each of its sub-brands MINI, Rolls-Royce and Motorrad. The BMW concept will now be shipped to Beijing in China to start a public tour called 'Iconic Impulses. The BMW Group Future Experience.' In June the tour arrives in London, where the MINI and Rolls-Royce concepts will be unveiled before it all moves to Los Angeles in the States for the final show in October. The Motorrad Vision bike will be revealed to the public there.
Along with that, 'The Future Experience' exhibition will be added to BMW Welt in Munich, there'll be a new '100 Masterpieces' installation at the BMW Museum and a party called 'BMW Festival - The Next 100 Years' held across the grounds of the Munich Olympic Park from 9-11 September this year.