What's the news?
BMW has given us the briefest and most obscure possible glimpse of the iNEXT, it's all-important electric-and-autonomous car, which is due for launch in 2021.
The image we've seen is a very vague, blue-backed one but it does show the roofline of an SUV, and it definitely gets the odd kicked-up window-line of the i3 electric car. Expect the iNEXT to be sized between the X3 and the X5, and to boast a roughly 500km driving range on a full charge of its batteries. It will be a rival to the likes of the Jaguar i-Pace and the Tesla Model X.
And it will be partially autonomous. BMW says that the car will be autonomous to Level 3.5. What does that mean? It means that, while you won't be able to doze or read a book behind the wheel, you will be able to leave more of the driving, more of the time, up to the car. Theoretically, anyway. 'Level 3.5' is a BMW creation, effectively, slotting between the driver-overseen Level 3 and the fully-robotic Level 4. Will BMW be able to develop such technology in a mere three years? Well, BMW has teamed up with chip maker Intel and Israel-based sensor company MobileEye, which suggests that it just might.
Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG, said: "The iNEXT project is our building kit for the future. It will benefit the entire company and all our brands. For the first time, we are combining all key technologies for future mobility in one vehicle. The iNEXT is fully electric, fully connected and also offers highly automated driving. Today, we gave our shareholders a very first glimpse of the design of the BMW iNEXT. Later this year, we will be presenting the BMW iNEXT as a Vision Vehicle."
That means we should see a full concept of the iNEXT, most likely at the upcoming Paris motor show in September, where it will share stand space with the all-new 3 Series. Which car will be more important to the future of BMW? Watch this space, we guess...