BMW Reportedly Working on Customizable LCD Dashboard

In an age when a wheel at each corner and an engine up front is not enough to sell even the cheapest car, premium automakers have had to step up their game and think ahead at what customers will want in the future. Mercedes Benz introduced it on the S-Klasse, while Jaguar-Land Rover recently fitted units to its all-new XJ and updated Range Rover, but the Bavarians are still lacking a fully configurable LCD gauge cluster.

All that’s about to change soon, as BMW will introduced the devices on the next-gen 5-Series and 7-Series, according to autoblog. The system is being co-developed in Munich and BMW's Technology Office in Mountain View California.

The new gauge cluster will display the standard dials for speed, revs, fuel and temp, but can be configured to show additional navigation, telematics and infotainment data depending on the driving mode, so you can have all the distracting images you want right there in front of you.

It all sounds like a page out of a video game, as it’s suggested that Comfort and Sport settings will change the display accordingly, possibly placing the tachometer in the in Sport mode, while providing shift lights and other more driver-centric information. For some reason, images of the Lexus LF-A’s cluster keep popping into mind!

BMW engineers will not make digital version of analog clocks, instead creating an innovative way to display the information. We’ve always thought that a car’s dials are like a nice watch - more than just something that tells you relevant information, but something beautiful that has a sense of weight, quality and design, plus brand identity.

The new technology should arrive at a BMW showroom near you in about two years’ time.