BMW is in the midst of reinventing itself, and the all-electric Vision Neue Klasse X previews the first SUV to wear the Neue Klasse moniker. The first batch of these iX3-sized cars will go into production in 2025, joining the production version of the Vision Neue Klasse sedan previewed last year.
As with the original Vision Neue Klasse, the Neue Klasse X’s design gives us a reasonably good idea of what to expect from the production car. The X is the second of six EVs that will ride on the Neue Klasse platform, all slated to be launched between 2025 and 2027.
Honey, I Shrunk The Grille
While BMW would like us all to focus on what this iX3 replacement represents for the brand, there’s no getting around the styling. The company itself describes the design language as being “pared-down,” which may be proof the designers have finally heard the public’s pleas to create something a bit less, well, grille-heavy.
Related: BMW Bringing Six Neue Klasse EVs To The Market This Decade
The Vision Neue Klasse X features a thin kidney grille up front, highly reminiscent of classic BMWs like the 2002 and, of course, the original Neue Klasse sedan from the ’60s. It’s not all retro goodness though: the grilles naturally light up, as is par for the course these days with BMWs. Look closer, and you’ll see those kidneys have been hollowed out with a melon baller. They’re deeply sculpted, so much so that it looks like one of those early demos for the wonders of 3D printing. The lights themselves follow the trend set by the Neue Klasse sedan — ditching the circle/squircles and instead getting vertical LEDs.
BMW speaks of the EV platform offering their designers the opportunity to embrace “classic BMW proportions.” And, while we can’t quite understand why ICEs restricted such choices in the past, it’s clear that the Neue Klasse X tries to maintain the lower beltline and shark-nosed aesthetic that impressed us when we first saw the new stylistic direction. That said, it translates less convincingly into an SUV (or SAV, sports activity vehicle as BMW calls it) than the sedan did, but nevertheless, the inclusion of the panoramic sunroof and very low beltline makes it look like an airy and future-forward experience.
The shape is also 20 percent more aerodynamic than the outgoing X models, while new tire and brake designs are quoted as contributing towards a 25 percent increase in efficiency. The rear features distinctive taillights, following on from the Neue Klasse sedan which included 3D-printed units spread over several levels in a design that showed depth.
Ten Times More Brain Power
Naturally, being a concept, there’s no official word on what kind of drivetrain or range figures the Neue Klasse X will be able to achieve. However, it has been confirmed to utilize BMW‘s sixth-generation eDrive tech, which promises a 30 percent improvement in range and similar gains in charging speed. Along with round battery cells that are more energy-dense, it’ll ride on an 800-volt architecture for rapid charging capability.
See Also: BMW Neue Klasse Concept Reboots The Brand And The 3-Series For The Electric Age
Rather than highlighting the backbone of the technology, the X sheds light on how BMW’s new range of EVs will be controlled, with new chassis and drive units said to offer a superior driving experience tailored to users’ individual needs. BMW has developed four new control units in-house. We say control units, but the company calls them “super brains” because they apparently have up to ten times the computing power. Included are separate “brains” for the powertrain and autonomous driving.
The Neue Klasse X confirms once again the death of the iDrive controller. Instead, steering-wheel-mounted buttons interact with BMW Panoramic Vision and the Central Display. The steering wheel, dubbed the HyPersonX wheel, features a control dedicated to adjusting how the Neue Klasse X “sounds” (i.e., what artificial noises are pumped into the cabin), which can be adjusted on the fly.
Staying inside, the Vision Neue Klasse’s interior incorporates a new plant-based material that has been sustainably developed and is free of petroleum. There’s also plenty of recycled marine plastics to be found too, with discarded fishing nets making up 30 percent of the interior plastic content.
Meanwhile, Panoramic Vision takes traditional infotainment a step further. It projects information at a height perfectly matched to the driver across the entire width of the windscreen. In driving situations, the BMW 3D Head-Up Display displays information such as assisted driving or traffic guidance.
On Sale In 2025
The production version of the Neue Klasse X, which will very likely become the second-generation iX3, will roll out of BMW’s Debrecen plant in Hungary next year.
Meanwhile, reports indicate that BMW will keep the ICE-powered X3 around for another generation as a separate model from the iX3/Neue Klasse X. The fossil fuel-powered car is expected to go into production in the third quarter of 2024 and has already been spied testing. Unlike the current lineup of X3 and iX3, the new generations will be better differentiated by virtue of the Neue Klasse platform taking over the underpinning of the new EV, making the two models more distinct from each other.
