BMW presents the Vision Neue Klasse X concept

Even though we are talking about an SUV, the BMW interpretation of the concept is an SAV, or a “Sports Activity Vehicle”. The Munich-based company is thus already indicating that the body design is more about lifestyle than utility. However, as 130 SAV is not a common name outside the company headquarters in Petuelring, we will stick with SUV here.

As is usual with such studies, there are no specific technical data for the Vision New Class X, but BMW does go into a little more detail on one important aspect of the drives. In order to transfer the “driving pleasure anchored in the BMW brand essence” to the New Class, a special drive and chassis control system was developed for the sixth-generation eDrive drives.

It is based on a new software stack developed in-house by the BMW Group and is intended to help the vehicles in the New Class achieve “harmonious driving behaviour at all times”, as stated in the press release. At the centre of this are two of the four high-performance computers (referred to by BMW as “super brains”) responsible for these functions.

“The BMW of the future will have four totally new super-brains: high-performance computers working smartly together on what, up until now, was processed separately. We developed the first super-brain completely in-house,” says BMW Board Member for Development Frank Weber “It integrates the entire powertrain and driving dynamics with up to ten times more computing power. The second super-brain will enable the next quantum leap in automated driving.” According to the Board of Management,”The result will be more dynamic performance, more precision, more efficiency and even more fun to drive.”

BMW does not go into more detail about the study’s battery in the press release. However, it is clear that the New Class is switching from the prismatic cells of the current BMW models to large-volume round cells in the cell-to-pack concept. The flat models (such as the Vision New Class concept presented in the autumn) use 4895 cells with a diameter of 48 millimetres and a height of 95 millimetres. The “tall” models of the New Class, however, use 48120 cells, which are 120 millimetres high with the same diameter – as in the Vision New Class X. With the 800-volt system, charging capacities of well over 200 kW should be possible. A range of 300 kilometres can be recharged within ten minutes.

BMW brings bidirectional charging to the New Class

With the Vision New Class X, BMW is also announcing a feature that will be incorporated into the entire architecture: bidirectional charging. BMW will offer the full range of functions here, from charging external devices such as e-bikes (vehicle-to-load) to operating the home with electricity from the e-car battery (vehicle-to-home) to feeding electricity into the grid (vehicle-to-grid) – the latter at least in the future.

Vehicle-to-Home is offered in the first phase, but this requires the special DC wallbox “BMW DC Wallbox Professional”. This allows the electricity stored in the vehicle – ideally the vehicle’s own PV electricity – to be fed back into the domestic grid when required. For example, the self-consumption of PV electricity can be increased by temporarily storing it until it is needed in the evening. This also reduces energy costs.

Only in a second stage will BMW customers be able to “make part of their battery capacity available externally”. “This energy can then be used to feed into the power grid at suitable times. Access to the energy market will be provided by BMW’s co-operation partner E.ON. With its dynamic electricity tariff, E.ON works with the BMW backend to control the charging process in order to generate revenue through energy trading,” is how BMW describes the process. When this function will be available in the various markets depends on the adoption of the necessary regulatory provisions and local conditions.

Vision New Class X bears new BMW brand face

With Vehicle-to-Load, the energy stored in the vehicle can be utilised for external electrical devices. “This means the Neue Klasse can double as a form of mobile power bank for charging an e-bike, for example, or supplying energy to electrical equipment while camping,” BMW wrote. However, this will be alternating current. BMW has not yet stated whether this alternating current can be drawn from a socket in the vehicle or from the charging port using an adapter, as is the case with Hyundai and Kia.

The SUV concept is primarily about the design. Basically, the SUV takes up the look of the well-known saloon study and BMW is already talking about the “new brand face for BMW X models”. In other words, what BMW showed at its 2024 annual press conference is likely to be very close to the future production model. The i3 once showed that production cars in Munich can be kept very close to the studies – even if the multi-energy approach subsequently lacked a little courage. With the New Class, however, BMW will probably differentiate its new models much more strongly from the core model series.

The BMW kidney grille, which has recently become enormously wide on many models, is once again distinctly narrow and characterises the front end with its vertical design. At the same time, it is designed as a “three-dimensional sculpture” with backlit contours, which together with the headlights (which in turn are reminiscent of the saloon study) are intended to create a lighting effect. The L-shaped rear lights are partly produced using 3D printing.

Inside, there is a newly designed steering wheel with multifunction buttons, the Central Display with intuitive touch function and the “BMW Panoramic Vision”, which projects the most important information across the entire width of the windscreen – a kind of mega head-up display.

In terms of aerodynamics, the Vision New Class X has a new top value according to BMW: Aerodynamic drag has been reduced by 20 per cent compared to a similar model in the current portfolio. New tyre designs and a specific braking system for all-electric vehicles should help to increase the overall efficiency of the vehicle by up to 25 per cent. The first units are currently undergoing test drives under extreme conditions.

“Together with the BMW Vision Neue Klasse, the BMW Vision Neue Klasse X showcases the breadth of our future BMW model line-up. The Neue Klasse reflects the variety of all the models that customers want today and in the future – from sporty sedan, with all its derivatives, to modern SAV family,” says Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “In this way, we are underlining that the Neue Klasse is much more than just a car or a specific concept; it is redefining the BMW brand – and, at the same time, will be more BMW than ever.”

bmwgroup.com (concept), bmwgroup.com (bidirectional charging)