The designers of BMW’s Vision Next 100 concept car appear on this video to help illuminate the thinking behind some of the futuristic aspects of the car. The BMW Vision Next 100 was the star of BMW’s 100th anniversary celebration in Munich on March 7, 2016.
For much greater detail on this revolutionary concept car and to experience the BMW Vision Next 100 interactively, visit http://www.next100.bmw and click on “Go To Interactive Experience.”
In the coming years, BMW is betting that the future of automobiles will be diverse. Some vehicles will be capable of specific levels or tasks of autonomous driving, while others will be fully capable self-driving cars. BMW thinks that cars will still be made for those of us who cherish to opportunity to guide a powerful machine along a challenging road, and BMW will continue to make those cars for us, or at least make sure that its autonomous cars also retain a driver-focused mode.
The BMW Vision Next 100 is BMW’s acknowledgment that it can build both autonomous and driver-enabled cars; in this case, in the same vehicle. Having driven the i3 and i8, we know that BMW can make lighter, stronger cars with unconventional doors. We also know that connectivity and driver assistance technology is coming whether we like it or not, but so far, it’s pretty easy to live with.
We expect the driver-car interface to improve, too. From knobs and buttons to iDrive to voice command to gesture control, BMW has shown us the path it intends to take that will allow the driver to communicate with the car’s systems and vice versa.
As long as BMW never loses sight that many people buy BMWs for the driving experience, not the riding experience, we, as drivers, can remain optimistc that we will continue to have a seat at the BMW table.
Sit back and watch what BMW’s design leadership came up with with the anything-is-possible future as their guide, instead of having to build a car that meets the needs of the current automotive market and the restrictions of evolutionary model development.—Scott Blazey
[Photos and video courtesy of BMW AG.]
