BMW And Google Bring The i4 And iX To Your Driveway With New Augmented Reality Experience

Configurators have revolutionized the car buying process and augmented reality promises to take things even further by allowing shoppers to check out vehicles from the comfort of their home.

BMW North America has recognized this potential, so they’ve partnered with Google Cloud to bring an immersive augmented reality experience to customers interested in the electric i4 and iX.

Designed to be as high-tech as the vehicles themselves, the augmented reality experience will allow users to digitally place the i4 and iX into any real-world environment. Since BMW is leveraging Google Cloud’s AR technology to bring the models to life in “photorealistic detail,” shoppers can get up close and look at “details like the fine leather grain and stitching in the interior of the BMW iX, vividly rendered via millions of polygons by Google Cloud’s industry-leading computing technology.”

Also Read: 2022 BMW iX Electrifies The Luxury Segment With 516 HP And 301 Miles Of Range

The experience doesn’t end there as users can change paint colors, so they can see what their ideal vehicle would look like in their driveway. The experience also allows users to adjust lighting as well as open and close doors.

BMW North America’s head of brand communications and strategy, Albi Pagenstert, said “We know that our new and existing customers expect unique and innovative campaigns for two of the most unique and innovative vehicles in our brand’s history, and Google Cloud helped us create something very special to share with them.”

The augmented reality experience is certainly cool and BMW said it can be “best viewed via bmwusa.com, which provides a direct link into the experience in the Google app for Android and iPhone OS.”

The i4 and iX will arrive in the United States this spring. The i4 eDrive40 starts at $55,400 and features a rear-mounted electric motor that develops 335 hp (250 kW / 340 PS) and 317 lb-ft (429 Nm) of torque. It’s powered by a 83.9 kWh battery pack, which enables the car to have an EPA-estimated range of up to 301 miles (485 km) on a single charge.

Customers can also upgrade to the $65,900 i4 M50, which sports a dual-motor all-wheel drive system with a combined output of 536 hp (400 kW / 543 PS) and 586 lb-ft (794 Nm) of torque. That’s more than the M4 and it enables the model to rocket from 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) in 3.7 seconds, and travel approximately 270 miles (435 km) between charges.

The iX, on the other hand, is an electric crossover that is the “technological flagship of BMW i.” The iX xDrive50 starts at $83,200 and features a dual-motor all-wheel drive system with 516 hp (385 kW / 523 PS) and 564 lb-ft (764 Nm) of torque. This enables the model to hit 60 mph (96 km/h) in 4.4 seconds and travel up to 324 miles (521 km) on a single charge.

Customers seeking even more performance can wait for the iX M60, which will arrive in the United States in June. It starts at $105,100 and has a combined maximum output of 610 hp (455 kW / 618 PS) and 811 lb-ft (1,098 Nm) of torque. This drops the 0-60 mph (0-96 km/h) time to 3.6 seconds, while also enabling the model to travel approximately 280 miles (451 km) per charge.

Note: Prices exclude a $995 destination charge and you can check out the AR Experience here on your smartphone