BMW unveils shape shifting, self-driving concept car

Car will presumably run on electricity or hydrogen and will be capable of driving itself

BMW completes a century in the automobile industry this year. Though the company has a rich history, it is trying to secure a place in the future by putting forward extreme concepts, giving the world a glimpse of what the future holds for the automobile industry.

BMW Vision Next 100 concept car, unveiled at BMW Group Centenary Event in Munich in March, is a sleek four-door car with flexible skin, scissor doors, and an interior that flutters in three dimensions to communicate with you.

PHOTO: BMW

The first thing that one would notice about BMW’s future car is its wheels, which are covered with a flexible skin made up of tiny triangles called Alive Geometry.



Alive Geometry serves dual purpose as it allows the body work to move when the wheels are turned and also serves as an analogue display system on the dashboard, alerting the driver to incidents and objects ahead.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Covered wheels give the advantage of improved aerodynamics as BMW claims the car would have a drag coefficient of just 0.18.

The interior is also covered in the same tiny triangles as the exterior that come alive throughout the cabin and flutter like birds, communicating with the driver and since it’s the future, the windscreen is a giant heads-up display.



Since the car is marketed for the future, it only makes sense that the BMW concept car has no buttons or knobs.  Everything would be controlled by a voice command interface called “The Companion,” which looks like a big, glowing gemstone on the dash.

The car would presumably run on electricity or hydrogen and would be capable of driving itself.

PHOTO: BMW

BMW’s futuristic car would offer two modes: Ease and Boost. Feeling lazy? Select Ease mode and let the computer do everything. Or if you are in a mood to see if BMW is still the ultimate driving machine, switch to boost mode and take control of the wheel and experience intense driving pleasure in the future.



PHOTO: REUTERS



The company which also owns Rolls Royce, recently showcased its first ever concept car “Rolls Royce Vision Next 100” a special event in London. The concept car is described by Rolls Royce as ‘Effortless’, ‘Autonomous’ and ‘Revolutionary’.



“The grand arrival of the Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100 boldly points to a bright future for our marque where our patrons’ individual demands for complete and authentic personalisation will be met through an exquisite fusion of technology, design and hallmark Rolls-Royce craftsmanship,” said CEO Torsten Müller-Ötvös at the concept’s launch.


This article was originally published on Wired.

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