The Vision INext is BMW's Crystal Ball, Slated for Production in 2021

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

BMW has showcased the new flagship SUV for the electric i brand. Called the Vision iNext, the vehicle’s aim is to make customers appreciate what’s on the inside — which is important when you’re moving into mobility and out of driving. BMW claims that the model represents the union of vehicular autonomy, connectivity, electrification, and services. It also represents the end of the car as we currently know it.

Don’t confuse the iNext as the death knell of motoring, though. This remains a concept car, not something that you’ll see appearing in your neighbor’s garage in the coming months. Despite promising a production model in 2021, this is still a conceptual exercise — BMW’s attempt at building a crystal ball that allows it to peer into the future. While we’re not going to argue the validity of clairvoyance or scrying, we will suggest that the utility vehicle is probably a more useful forecasting tool than a glass orb and a gut feeling.

It’s loaded with cutting-edge technologies we’re likely to see gradually creep into automobiles over the next decade and some extra-fancy stuff that will probably remain limited to high-end nameplates. Powertrain details were absent but, even if they had been made available, they’d be largely meaningless. This is not foreshadowing any production model in BMW’s lineup so much as it’s a loose blueprint for the brand’s advanced, electrified future.

The Vision iNext serves as a reminder that BMW intends to begin selling 12 new EVs by 2025 (one of which will probably share its name) and claims to still be on track to deliver Level 4 autonomy by 2021.

While it has human controls for moments when you want to engage in some spirited driving, the iNext is clearly designed to encourage people not to use them. A projector in the car’s ceiling beams video onto any blank surface. Passengers can then use gesture controls to digitally “turn the page,” if they’re reading, or “change the channel,” if they’re watching television. While this isn’t actually all that more convenient than bringing a paperback or fully charged cellphone, it does show that BMW is aiming to surpass the status quo.

A large panoramic roof invites passengers to relax and take in the scenery while they enjoy a glut of natural light. Meanwhile, an Intelligent Personal Assistant ensures they’ll be able to continue taking it easy throughout the journey. The iNext can be seamlessly interlinked with the BMW Connected, smart devices and smart home network, making it possible for drivers to do things like adjust the thermostat or close the garage through in-car voice commands. Although, you could also use the center display in a pinch.

The interior is designed to be as lavish as possible and closely mimic a living space. It’s rear seat is a single wide bench covered in BMW’s “Enlighted Cloudburst cloth upholstery with its intricate Jacquard weave” and serves as the drivable apartment’s couch. Intended for two, it’s could easily facilitate more. However, that third occupant would be parked on the mid-seat gesture controls that allow riders to draw various symbols in the fabric that adjust audio levels or ambient lighting (or just doodle with help from the light projector). The rest of the iNext’s interior takes a more neutral approach. It’s minimal, modern, and beige with some natural wood thrown in for good measure.

About the size of a BMW X5, the iNext’s exterior could hint at that model’s eventual form. Everything is in roughly the right place — except for the side mirrors, which have been replaced by cameras. None of it is to scale, however. Forward and rear illumination points have been converted into paper-thin slits while the kidney grille has been oversized and stretched down to an extreme degree.

We’ve see this vertical, LED-lined grille design appearing on a few electric concepts lately. The four-door i Vision Dynamics “Grand Coupe” concept has one that is almost identical, meaning this could become a hallmark feature on models that don’t prioritize internal combustion. It looks completely ridiculous, though. Hopefully, that aspect gets toned down a bit before 2021.

[Images: BMW]

Matt Posky
Matt Posky

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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  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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