VISION CIRCULAR, Vision Dee, Vision Neue Klasse - three concept cars in only two years, one overriding message: BMW is fully committed to a tailpipe emissions-free future. True, so are the other key players in the car industry, but the Bavarian Mobility Wizards are quick to point out that the next-generation models destined to populate the roads of tomorrow do not only qualify as reassuringly clean but also as personalised ultimate driving machines.
Vision Circular lifted the art of recycling to a new level, Vision Dee introduced the panoramic head-up display along with an on-demand low-voltage colour-changing paint substitute dubbed E Ink, and now Vision Neue Klasse is about to showcase an advanced cell-to-pack architecture crammed with breakthrough technologies in a fresh low-drag signature wrapping. Like the original Neue Klasse (1500-2000tii, 1962-1972) which saved the ailing car maker from bankruptcy, its late successor aims to make BMW fit for the next 20 years, this time in the fast lane of the electric super-highway.
Vision Circular was first to introduce eye-catching redesigned front and rear ends defined not merely by lights, kidney and grille but by fully integrated free-form display areas conceived to contain headlamps, taillights and supporting graphic elements. Vision Dee packaged these themes in a larger three-box body the proportions of which bore a strong resemblance to that other model which pulled BMW back from the brink, the 1502-2002tii (1966-1977). In a
