When the BMW Vision iNext was unveiled, the concept car was received with a lukewarm welcome. While some readers complained about the exterior design, others decided to focus on what the car it means for BMW and its future.
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Nevertheless, we are used to judging things by what they look like and therefore the design of this futuristic car needs some explanations for those who are still reticent towards it. Maybe that’s why BMW put together a video with the designers who penned it, where they basically explain the process behind the car to allow us to understand it better.
As Domagoj Dukec, the BMW i Design boss, puts it, with the BMW Vision iNext they tried to break boundaries yet again. BMW i is synonymous with a pioneering spirit and that something you can see in every i car. From the i3 to the i8, nothing about these cars says ‘conventional’ and that’s something they had to infuse into the iNext as well.
“With the BMW Vision iNext we wanted to break with certain dogmas and show a new interpretation of car making, namely a human one” Dukec says in the video below.
The aim of the car was to offer a physical space that felt like home to the occupants, allowing them to unwind and relax. Therefore, the people involved in the project really tried their best to infuse it with the capability to offer that to anyone sitting inside. Everyone pitched in to make the Vision iNext a more comfortable and relaxing space, projecting their own take on it and this is what we got in the end.
Nothing but a marketing gimmick… someone is in love with horse, someone is in love with beach sand and the connection of it all with this horrendous frog isn’t coming forth, at all.
Tell you what BMW !! if this thing would have been any interesting and ‘actually’ creative there would have been no need of such video. Or probably its actually so creative that its beyond the understanding of us mere mortals. Even if the latter is the case, then not many of us would be willing to be seen with this thing. So that limits your potential customer client to BMW designers itself. Good luck with your purchase.
The fact is that the ‘i’ division has been treated by BMW as a step child. Most core team members have left already and this is the best that can be done with last remnants.
False. This has been going on since post-War, beginning with General Motors’ Motorama. @ that time BMW went to Pininfarina for a prototype, it looked too much like an Alfa & was never produced, now they do it themselves. These people are literally visionary, building a future which no one knows. BMW have a long history of producing their Concepts, from 507 to Turbo, which evolved into M1, now 1 Series, i3, i8, X4, Z4, 8 Series, to name a few. BMW are building new factories, certainly not to produce “remnants”. They are on record stating that technology is evolving so fast that no one knows where it will be in 5 yrs. – that includes design, of course, since it will accommodate all that new tech. Chris Bangle was with the company for a decade before he was blamed for Bangle Butt, people in the photo above have been with the co. for years. They know what they’re doing. So this is not only marketing – what isn’t? – it is the future.
i hope you are right !!
Not up to me. BMW have been doing this for over a century, this one alone they revived MINI, Range Rover, Rolls-Royce while doubling their own model range.
and i beg to differ with author of the article over here. Designs matter.They really Do !! If that wouldn’t have been the case then all these designers would not have been making big bucks.
Thats why the design teasers are released first. Thats why the customer clinics are held before design freeze. If the design is not clicking with prospective buyers, more often than not, they are not going to walk through doors in car showrooms.
And at this moment most of us really dont know what this vehicle is about beyond its design. So we can only comment on the car based on design.
Personally, i felt that there was actually nothing to defend about as far as design is concerned thats why e have been asked to look beyond. I may be completely wrong here but thats the message i got from article.
They should just admit they screwed up, instead of flinging BS. The car is not the beach, is not your home, and shouldn’t be. They’re just throwing up walls around their insular make-believe world, and feeling smug about it. It is what it is. You’re not supposed to look beyond it. Or else why even bother?
Guess you’ve never worked with designers or creative. BMW are evolving interior environments & exterior design, their references are totally applicable. Chinese & Japanese design have evolved from their environments for centuries.
If you have to produce a follow up video to explain the design again, that’s a good sign that it sucks. All they had to do was show a picture of the M8 Gran Coupe, and people liked it. Why do they think their electric cars don’t need to look like BMWs? I don’t mind futuristic designs, but don’t throw out your heritage. The grill wasn’t the only bad thing, but it eliminates all the hallmarks of their traditional grill. If they wanted to do a bold, big grill, design it to look like a futuristic 328 grill, not a Kia Sportage.
BMW’s heritage is that they NEVER have looked the same from one decade to the next. Ditto grilles, Google Image 8 decades of them. BMW BEV look better than most, either identical to their ICE, bland or homely.
Yes, BMW’s heritage is changing design every decade but there’s some other heritages too. Grills always were 2 but we have just 1 big grill now!!
Concept cars and show cars have been a fact of life since post-WWII (even before, in fact), General Motors used to tour their Motorama show. I don’t know how many mid-engine Corvette prototypes they’ve built over the years, only now is one going into production. BMW have a pretty good record of producing their Concepts, notably i3 & i8. There have been a wide range of BMW grilles over the years, on the multi-million $ 507 they’re horizontal. Did their rear-engine cars even have grilles? Behind the scenes information is always interesting, whether it’s design studio or assembly line.
Van Hooydonk looking like an auld nonce these days!
Rather than BMWblog, try Grindr. Or r u still banned?
BMWblog, you delete me (fair enough) but subjective comments about the appearance of BMW’s Director of Design are ok (& by implication his sexuality, wtf is a nonce?)? Aren’t you doing enough volume from typists hating his work here already? Now we have to make it personal? You have more than enough name-calling between readers, already.
Fuck off, you insufferable little fairy!
Beg all u want, ur still not getting any.
We delete all negative ones, so the other one will be deleted also
BMW should just stop thinking about making moving houses and go back to their core that made them come to this point .. and it is sports cars , why make an ugly shit like that while leaving the i8 project unfinished .. this car should be high up with the hypercars because BMW have the knowledge to achieve that , they think if it sells less then its not good for the company but it is good , thats how manufactors get their names from , look at mercedes now they are marketing themselves as the ultimate driving machine while bmw puts the “sheer driving pleasure” on this ugly commercial house that talks about feeling at home while there is no interior design at all
Mercedes’ “hypercar”, like their F1 team, is British. While you fall for hype, BMW unveil 5 new production models in Paris in days.
We need more production unveilings than concepts.
5 next week @ Paris – 3er, Z4, 8er, X5, M5 Competition.
I was actually refering to EVs, my love for ICE cars died a few months back.
So, like the rest of the world, still waiting.
I guess so… I’m saving up for that i4 if it will be impressive or I’ll have to feed another brand.