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Wednesday, 2 March 2011
BMW's history is littered with roadsters, from the pre-war 328 and the beautiful 507, to the futuristic Z1 and the more recent Z3 and Z4 models. So it’s perhaps no wonder that the Bavarians are using the body style to give us a glimpse of its possible future in terms of technology and style.
The Vision ConnectedDrive occupies a place on BMW’s stand at the Geneva auto show. The two-door roadster’s "layered" appearance evokes the EfficientDynamics concept from 2009, while its asymmetrical layout brings back memories of 2001’s X Coupe concept. Just as the former previewed a wild, forthcoming production car and the latter ushered in the Bangle design era, the Vision ConnectedDrive provides a glimpse of BMWs to come.
Layered, Like an Onion
But rather than having a single plane of smooth sheetmetal or plastic covering up the functional elements of the vehicle, the concept employs different layers of material. The broken-up structures partially reveal the technology hidden underneath, and what you see changes significantly with every angle. The doors, inspired by the Z1’s, slide into the body, and the car can be driven with the doors tucked away.
The layered surfaces are enhanced with fiber-optic lighting effects that highlight the different functions and sections of the car. We’re not sure yet if we like it, but we appreciate the hard work: it certainly isn't possible to design a car like this with just a few pen strokes. And it is a remarkable and potentially trend-setting approach that is every bit as daring as the one taken by BMW design ten years ago with the X Coupe.
The windshield acts as the medium for a three-dimensional head-up display, and additional information is shown on the monitor behind the steering wheel. Tellingly, the layer that displays relevant driving information is christened the "safety layer," and it is fed by plenty of watchful sensors.
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A larger zone that also encompasses the passengers is called the "infotainment layer," and it offers movies, music, and internet access. Passengers also get their own display with nav and music info, which can then be sent to the driver’s attention at the press of a finger.
The third layer is the entire vehicle, and falls under the touchy-feely term "comfort layer." It includes car-to-car and car-to-infrastructure communications; we hope the latter excludes car-to-cop shout-outs.
But underneath the layering, the concept seems fairly normal. It’s a traditional roadster, with a long hood, front wheels pushed far toward the corners, and an angry-looking front end that hews closely to BMW's current corporate look.
All-Seeing Future Tech
BMW is showcasing a bunch of new technologies in Geneva. They include connectivity with your smart phone, an AmEx Centurion–like concierge service, and automated self-parking. There also is an "emotional browser" that can, for example, download the music playlist of a café you’re passing, or provide architectural information on the surrounding buildings. It also includes an online purchasing function, so you can immediately buy what you see.
But the tech also highlights safety, of course. In the ConnectedDrive concept, sensors in the head- and taillights constantly scan the vehicle's surroundings, and a perceived danger is not only highlighted but also augmented with suggestions for evasive action.
BMW, by the way, doesn't say anything about the ConnectedDrive’s powertrain. Could it be BMW’s naturally aspirated inline-six, the traditional engine for the company’s roadsters? We somehow doubt it. And in all honesty, with this concept monitoring and second-guessing your driving, we’re not quite sure whether the statement that "the engineers of the BMW Group are working incessantly to turn this into reality for series-production vehicles" should be classified as a promise or a threat.
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