BMW Vision Future Luxury Concept
The BMW Vision Future Luxury furnishes a long-term outlook on the
perception of modern luxury for the BMW brand. It stands for a forward-looking
fusion of exclusivity and innovation, for a driving experience that is at once
emotional and exclusive. All this is conveyed through the outstanding exterior
and interior design of the BMW Vision Future Luxury along with its innovative
technology, a pioneering lightweight engineering concept and a seamlessly
integrated user interface and driving experience that caters optimally to the
needs of all occupants. “Innovative technology and modern luxury have always
been an important part of BMW’s brand DNA,” says Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior
Vice President BMW Group Design. “We use visionary concept vehicles like the BMW
Vision Future Luxury to show where we may be going with these themes in the
future, and to give us new inspiration and motivation. The BMW Vision Future
Luxury – with its innovative technologies and with meticulous precision and
quality in every detail – takes our thinking on modern luxury a logical stage
further.”
Heralding a new approach – the design.
“The design of the BMW Vision Future Luxury is the messenger of our
philosophy of modern luxury, one in which innovative technologies play a key
and vital role. These innovations deliver a new, multifaceted luxury experience
that spans intelligent lightweight engineering, innovative interior design and
a radically new user interface design,” says Karim Habib, Head of BMW Design,
summing up the design approach to the BMW Vision Future Luxury. This approach
is particularly tangible in the interior. Throughout, the design expresses both
form and function of the innovative technologies. For example, the intelligent
lightweight engineering concept of the BMW Vision Future Luxury is expressed in
the design principle of subtractive modelling. That is to say, the specific
geometry and functions of an individual component are created from one and the
same layered composite structure, comprising many different levels and
materials. An initial base layer of fine carbon fabric is followed by a
functional level featuring user interface components, control and display
interfaces and lighting functions, which in turn is followed by a further
structural, load-bearing layer of aluminium for additional strength. Finally,
the top layers comprise wood, then leather, to create a warm and comfortable
ambience. In a given area of the interior, the multi-layer structure is “milled
down” to the appropriate depth depending on what surface material and what
function is required. Since the interior geometry is therefore always pared
down to essentials, this cuts total weight substantially. This treatment also
makes for virtually seamless transitions and very elegant, fluid surfaces. The unrivalled
characteristics of carbon as a material – both individually and in combination
with its surrounding materials – are optimally utilised in this rigorous
lightweight design concept. The carbon underlying layer is visible in the
doors, under the seats and especially in the innovative, pared-down B-pillar. A
full B-pillar as used in the past is dispensed with. The carbon construction
allows the seat frames to be integrated into the load-bearing structure. There
are also connections to the door sills and centre console, which means only a
very small and unobtrusive B-pillar is required. The BMW Vision Future Luxury’s
wide-opening coach doors would not have been possible without this new carbon
B-pillar solution.
New-style user interface design and exclusive BMW ConnectedDrive services.
In the driver’s and front passenger’s area, precisely defined lines and
surfaces create a sense of exclusive dynamism. The design of the instrument
panel closely complements the design of the displays themselves. The driver is
surrounded by a wrap-around cluster of three intermeshing displays, creating
the typical BMW driver-centric cockpit. The three-dimensional display
technology means that at the visual level the instrument panel styling appears
to carry over into the displays themselves. In other words, to the eye the
interior space seems to continue into the solid structures of the instrument
panel, generating an impression of unprecedented depth and spaciousness. The
left-hand display mainly presents vehicle-related information, while in the
centre a programmable cluster displays speedometer, rev counter and other
information, as well as context-adaptive supplementary data, which is displayed
as and when relevant. Meanwhile, the right-hand display – the Driver Information
Display – provides additional infotainment information. The driver also has the
option of controlling all these functions by voice command.
BMW Vision Head Up Display.
The primary driver display, however, is the “contact-analogue” BMW Vision
Head Up Display. This display augments the driver’s view of the real world by
projecting information directly in the driver’s line of sight onto the road.
Buildings, traffic signs or hazards can be highlighted directly in the
real-world environment, selectively directing the driver’s attention to
specific information which is particularly important at any given time. This
technology gives a new dimension to driver assistance functions such as Speed
Limit Info, where road signs can be identified and highlighted in the driver’s
field of view, or the Traffic Light Assistant, which provides real-time
information about traffic light phasing. In place of a central shared
information display for driver and front passenger, the BMW Vision Future
Luxury offers front passengers their own Passenger Information Display. This
display is connected to the Driver Information Display via a touch-sensitive
panel, where information can be exchanged between driver and front passenger
using swiping movements. Applications like booking opera tickets online direct
from the vehicle via the BMW ConnectedDrive Luxury Concierge service can be
displayed in the Passenger Information Display, where they don’t risk
distracting the driver. The relevant functions can be conveniently controlled
by the front passenger using the iDrive Controller with touch-sensitive
interface.
Rear Seat Touch Command Tablet.
In the back, two Rear Seat Displays set into carbon surrounds, and a
detachable Rear Seat Touch Command Tablet, put the finishing touch to the integrated
user interface concept of the BMW Vision Future Luxury. These displays can
communicate with the front displays and also with the BMW ConnectedDrive
services. Everything from trip-related information like speed and journey time
to information relating to the Luxury Concierge Services can be displayed here
in simple and customised form. It is also possible to use online entertainment
content like internet-based video and music streaming as well as gaming. All
content and functions can be controlled from the rear seats using the
detachable Rear Seat Touch Command Tablet in the centre console.
Personal space at the rear.
For the occupants of the rear seats, the BMW Vision Future Luxury offers a
luxurious haven of personal space. Two large, deeply contoured single seats add
to the appeal, inviting passengers to retire into their own personal “comfort
zone”. A retractable table, the angled Rear Seat Displays and the rigid backs
of the front seats create a very private ambience, sectioning this area off from
the rest of the interior. The sense of privacy is accentuated by modern,
flowing geometry and the use of select materials, with lavish wood surfaces
extending from the rear parcel shelf to enfold the rear seat occupants in a
cosseting three-dimensional space. Strategically placed lighting slats
integrated into the wood echo the surrounding styling and, with their warm
glow, accentuate the modern and cosy ambience. Finest-quality aniline leather
in Batavia brown and a lighter Silk shade, Silk nubuk leather and the warm
brown, layered lime wood all have a natural aura which offers unique visual
appeal and quality. The division between darker materials in the upper areas
and light materials in the lower areas creates a feeling of warmth and a
luxurious sense of space. A deep-pile pure silk carpet rounds off the exclusive
array of materials in the interior of the BMW Vision Future Luxury.
Exclusiveness and elegance – the exterior design.
In side view, perfect proportions – precise, uncluttered and elegant –
convey the exclusiveness of the BMW Vision Future Luxury. The long wheelbase,
short overhangs and low, set-back greenhouse lend the stretched silhouette a
refined dynamism. In hallmark BMW style, a finely sculpted contour line creates
a taut arc along the side of the vehicle, and the opulent surfaces underneath
this line have, as always on a BMW, been shaped by seasoned modellers. This
hand-sculpted design gives the surfaces a special emotional appeal that would
be beyond the capabilities of a computer. The effect is further enhanced by the
Liquid Platinum Bronze exterior paintwork, which generates a warm, shimmering
effect. An exclusive flourish at the side of the vehicle is the side mirror,
which appears to grow organically out of the chrome window trim. Designed as a
visual continuation of the chrome trim, its slender stalk is attached to the
mirror from below, giving it a graceful and effortless appearance, almost as if
it were hovering in mid-air.
BMW Efficient Dynamics: honed aerodynamics and intelligent lightweight engineering.
The exterior design perfectly showcases the advanced aerodynamics and
innovative lightweight engineering of the BMW Vision Future Luxury. The coupé-style
roofline and sloping boot lid, for example, significantly reduce drag.
Underlying the tautly sculpted exterior surfaces, equally refined solutions
provide optimal channelling of the airflow. They include the Air Breather
system at the rear of the front wheel arch, a C-pillar with internal air
channelling, and openings in the rear apron which vent air from the wheel
arches. An elegant carbon strip in the door sill area alludes discreetly to the
innovative lightweight engineering concept based on aluminium and carbon. Both
these lightweight materials are used in the vehicle in exactly the right places
to achieve maximum effect – both individually and in tandem.
BMW Laserlight at the front.
Clean and simple in design, the traditional iconic BMW front-end design
cues – the twin kidney grille and twin headlights – instantly proclaim the
brand identity of the BMW Vision Future Luxury. The lean contours of the
headlights also hint at the innovative technology sheltering behind them: BMW
Laserlight. This new technology not only paves the way for a very flat and
dynamic interpretation of the typical BMW twin round headlamps, it also sets
completely new standards in terms of brightness, range and intensity. The
concentrated, parallel light beam is up to ten times more intense than that of
an LED system. The reduced energy consumption and packaging requirements of
laser lights make this technology a prime candidate for use in future vehicles.
Underneath the headlights, the assertive multi-material front apron accentuates
the elegant front-end styling. At the outboard ends of the apron, graceful
carbon air deflectors conceal a range of BMW EfficientDynamics aerodynamics
features. The thin-walled air deflectors are made of carbon, a further reminder
of the intelligent lightweight engineering concept of the BMW Vision Future
Luxury. A slender chrome strip on the air deflectors highlights the airflow
system.
OLED lighting at the rear.
The horizontal lines of the side profile glide gently away at the rear in a
final expansive flourish. As at the front, the body styling in this area is
deliberately understated, allowing the innovative, narrow and slender lights to
make a powerful statement. For the first time on a BMW the rear lighting is
provided by organic LEDs, paving the way for a completely new treatment of the
typical BMW L-shaped lights. The BMW Vision Future Luxury’s L-shaped rear
lights comprise a large number of small, likewise L-shaped OLEDs. An organic
LED consists of wafer-thin organic semiconductor layers positioned between two
electrodes. The light-emitting polymer layer is only approx. 400 nanometres
thick, making it roughly 400 times thinner than a human hair. Organic LEDs are
not only extremely thin, as well as flexible, they also produce very uniform illumination
over their entire surface. Due to their very thin dimensions, and since they do
not require reflectors in order to produce the desired broad light dispersion,
they open up completely new ways of using light in and around the vehicle.
Source:BMW Press Release
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