BMW Concept Sedan, Slated for Production, to Bolster Electric Sub-brand
BMW showcased the i Vision Dynamics concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show this week — making it the third model for its i low-emissions electro-centric sub-brand. As a potential rival for Tesla’s Model 3, the i Vision Dynamics has all the hallmarks of an evolutionary automobile: an electric powerplant, absent grille, and the most boring name imaginable.
With windows tinted so black that you couldn’t tell if the sun was behind the wheel, the concept car is probably little more than a shell. We’ll take it at face value, noting that it exists as the physical representation of BMW’s promise to modernize as much as it does as a prototypical production model. However the automaker did say it will go on sale in 2021 — which is more than a little surprising.
Styled as the ever popular “four-door gran coupe,” the i Vision will be an extension of its electric sub-brand. Our guess is that it’ll be slotted above the i3 EV and use a slightly larger numeric designation with an “i” tacked on for good measure. BMW says the i Vision Dynamics concept demonstrates how the brand will “envisage future electric mobility between the i3 and i8,” heralding a new forthcoming product offensive that includes 25 electrified cars by 2025.
For the i Vision, that means a claimed electric range of 373 miles. BMW also says the EV will hit 100 kph (or 62 mph) in four seconds with a top speed of around 120 mph.
“With the i3 and i8 we have designed a revolutionary city car and a revolutionary sports car,” said BMW’s senior vice president of design, Adrian van Hooydonk, in a statement. “And now the BMW i Vision Dynamics is combining electric mobility with the core values of BMW: dynamism and elegance. We are therefore demonstrating how the product range and the design language of BMW i can be evolved further into other concepts.”
The brand also talked up the vehicle’s ultra-modern styling, which is bound to be polarizing, and its visual marriage between elegance and strength. We can agree there. The overall shape imports beefy haunches onto a flowing form with enough sharp angles to keep things interesting. But it’s overdone the “grille” for the second time this week and the overall impression is very different from the company’s current EVs.
The concept’s styling is supposed to continue into the vehicle’s cabin, which BMW described as the “interior experience of the future.” But, since the company neglected to give it transparent windows, we’re not going to speculate on it.
In addition to whatever the i Vision morphs into, BMW Group said it plans to begin production of its fully electric sub-brand flagship, the iNext, in 2021. However, the next BEV the company sells will be from Mini — followed by an electric version of the X3 in 2020.
[Images: BMW Group]
A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.
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I could get behind this styling if they toned down the grille. I was always a fan of 80s-early 00s BMW's because they have a very clean but sporty look to them. The style never relied on gimmicks. Recent BMW design has begun to lose that, and most sedans in general now look ridiculously over styled. This has a very clean look with minimal visual gimmicks outside of that over-sized grille work (but even as is, avoiding the giant gaping hole on most of its competitors is still a plus... Lexus cough cough).