New BMW unveiled in Los Angeles
At the center of the car culture, we had the opportunity to be part of a significant and historic automotive event where BMW revealed the new face of its brand at its design studio in Los Angeles.
The event took place at the Petersen Automobile Museum and was attended by journalists, designers, and executives who had the first look at the brand’s new face. Julia de Bono, the visionary in charge of DesignWorks, opened the preview, which included a full-size functional vehicle. She underlined that the Neue Klasse X is more than just a car or a specific concept; it is redefining the BMW brand for the future. The studio has a multinational team of designers led by Hussein Al Alttar, who studies the American market to develop successful vehicles like the X5. The BMW Vision Neue Klasse X is a midsize SAV with a striking face and subtle changes along its body, accentuated by styling design elements in the front and back of the vehicle. The car is painted in a metal-like “Coral Silver” color that gives it a confident stance.
The BMW has vertically aligned LED units that offer a fresh interpretation of BMW’s hallmark light signature. The headlights and kidney grille create an activated lighting effect as the driver approaches the vehicle. The interior of the car is the best part. The design team has cleverly utilized recycled materials that create an open, cozy interior with plenty of space for the occupants. The sustainability concept also ensures responsible production, operations, disassembly, and recycling. The upholstery combines several cloth-like materials that are soft to the touch and colorful, creating a calm, open space feeling. The German company developed a plant-based, mineral-based, and petroleum-free surface material for the interior. The panoramic roof is the biggest one seen so far. Large window areas and the panoramic glass roof flood the interior with natural light, creating an airy spaciousness. Once inside, you are in a futuristic environment where technology welcomes you with sound, light, and images on the center touch screen. The redesigned steering wheel with multifunction buttons, Central Display with intuitive touch control functionality, and BMW Panoramic Vision, together with the advanced voice control of the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant, serve as effortless and intuitive interfaces for human-car interaction. BMW Panoramic Vision projects critical information across the entire width of the windscreen. According to Frank Weber from BMW, “The BMW of the future will have four new super-brains: high-performance computers working smartly together on what, up until now, was processed separately.”
The first super-brain integrates the entire powertrain and driving dynamics with up to ten times more computing power. The second super-brain will enable the next quantum leap in automated driving. The Neue Klasse X uses the sixth-generation BMW eDrive platform and features new cylindrical lithium-ion battery cells with a volumetric energy density more than 20 percent higher than the prismatic cells previously used. Combined with the transition to an 800-volt system, this will improve charging speed by up to 30 percent. The sixth generation of BMW eDrive also delivers up to 30 percent more range. Throughout the car, maritime plastics are also being utilized for the first time for injection-molded parts. Thirty percent of the plastic content is sourced from recycling, and designers kept in mind the use of mono materials to maximize the total recyclability of the new car. What we saw was a new approach to design and build a car. The sedan Vision and the Klasse X concepts take BMW to the next level. The first fully electric SAV derivative on the new architecture will go into series production at Plant Debrecen, Hungary, in 2025.
