The BMW Vision iNEXT Gets its World Premiere at the LA Auto Show

author: Eric Walz   

LOS ANGELES —  BMW offered the world's first look of its Vision iNEXT today at the Los Angeles Auto Show. The futuristic iNEXT might become the future of personal mobility. 

BMW's Vision iNEXT represents a building block for the future of the BMW Group, encompassing technology, design that are set to filter through across the company and its brands BMW wrote in a press release.

The iNEXT combines all four of BMW's strategic innovation fields – autonomous driving, connectivity, electrification and mobility services (ACES) into a single vehicle. BMW says the iNEXT is built around a human-centred design.

In the future, drivers will have ever greater freedom to decide how they wish to use the time spent travelling in a car and the iNEXT delivers a unique experience. With autonomous driving capable vehicles, the design of the vehicle's interior will become increasingly important.

The all-electric BMW Vision iNEXT has therefore been created as a mobile space and addresses the need for a new "favourite space", in which passengers can sit back and relax in a sleek modern interior space.

The geometry of the iNEXT cabin is composed of just a few, clean-cut lines, placing the focus on materials and colours. BMW added a mix of cloth and wood creates the kind of sophisticated feel associated with Scandinavian furniture design, helping to give the interior its special "boutique" character. 

The inside of the vehicle includes warm welcoming colours, such as rosé, brown and beige, while the shimmering metallic BMW calls Mystic Bronze provides a nice accent. 

Smart Technology

Smart technologies will help people in an ever more unobtrusive way in the future. In the BMW Vision iNEXT, these technologies stay in the background and out of sight and are only deployed when needed or at the driver's or passenger's request.  

As a result, there is virtually no need for either screens or buttons. Functions can be operated using surfaces made of materials such as wood or cloth. Control of the vehicle is tailored to the requirements of the people travelling in it.

The exterior of the BMW Vision iNEXT is also sleek and modern looking The new BMW i design language is clearly visible with its striking lines and sculpted surfaces. It looks like no other car on the road today.  

The iNEXT features a very modern take on the classic BMW front grill, complete with slender headlights, while cameras replace the traditional side mirrors to show what's happening behind the vehicles. The windshield merges into a panoramic roof, providing a clear view of the car's innovative interior.

The air flows along the roof of the BMW Vision iNEXT all the way to its trailing edge, and this combines with a  unique illuminated diffuser to enhance the car's aerodynamics. The diffuser is an attractive styling element as well as being highly functional. By fine tuning the iNEXT aerodynamics, BMW's engineers also increased the electric range. 

The BMW Group's Vision Car will herald the beginning of a new era for the company and mark the next step in the Munich-based company's ongoing model design.

BMW said the iNEXT production model will roll off the assembly line at its Dingolfing assembly plant beginning in 2021. 

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.