BMW is currently known more for its outrageous styling rather than its promises of sporty elegance – and that's quite a shame. In the past, that would have been a big no-no.
During the glorious automotive days of my childhood, the German trifecta had a clear separation in my mind: Mercedes-Benz was the luxurious and comfortable choice for my parents, Audi was the type of car a rich aunt would drive to family meetings, and I longed to drive a feisty BMW when I turned 18 and got my driving license.
Unfortunately, by the time I grew up, BMWs were already associated with a distinct type of individuals I wanted nothing with – and that's partly the fault of so many big SUVs like the X6. Recently, the Bavarians have decided that a change of pace is needed to jolt forward in the CUV-centric automotive world that is also dealing with the EV revolution.
That's not a bad idea, as the brand was becoming quite stale. But the main problem is they started zipping in too many directions simultaneously as if they were a drunken Flash. So, the 4 Series plus M3 and M4 have a grille that looks like Little Dracula and his brother's double coffin, the M2 feels taken from the world of Minecraft, and the flagship 7 Series plus i7 and X7 have split our opinions just like the designers did with the headlights.
But that's not all, as the flag-bearer series' also have two other directions – the one paved by the iX electric CUV and the other shown by the XM high-performance SUV. Wait, wait, that's not all. BMW recently announced the Neue Klasse (New Class), a vision of the next evolution of (part of) its EVs. The dream, of course, is currently put into perspective by two concepts – i Vision Dee and Vision Neue Klasse.
Both come with big promises and wild bets for the upcoming new battery electric vehicle series – the architecture will enable significant gains across the technical spectrum (30% more range and faster charging, 25% more efficiency) thanks to the sixth-gen BMW eDrive technology. The first model – a four-door sedan about the size of the 3 Series is expected around 2025, but it won't be the only one.
With these concepts, BMW changed its extreme over-design ethos for extreme minimalism, and not everyone was colored impressed. As such, maybe it's up to the imaginative realm of digital car content creators to show a few alternatives to the Neue Klasse sedan to see if BMW can make the case for an entire family of models.
Not long ago, we saw a pixel master draw a high-riding version and asked if it could be counted as the next iX3. Now, a couple of pixel masters have tried their CGI brushes on the BMW Vision Neue Klasse and turned the quirky sedan into a two- or five-door electric vehicle. For example, the virtual artist Theottle decided the Neue Klasse would look a lot better as a more compact EV coupe based on the 2 Series Coupe. And we agree!
Also, Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YouTube, has taken up the task of revealing a different Neue Klasse – one that could act as the successor to the 2 Series minivans from the persona of a traditional station wagon – a Neue Klasse Gran Tourer. So, how do you feel about the Neue Klasse family growing to include additional options – yay or nay?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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