Candy-coloured BMW i Vision Dee is a compact concept swathed in an E Ink skin
BMW i goes full colour with its bold new concept car, combining E Ink exterior paint with minimal trim and a direct connection to the digital world
![BMW i Vision Dee Concept in multicoloured E Ink panels](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/2Eq4zDcK74nrGLoX7Pw4df-415-80.jpg)
There’s an awful lot to unpack from the expansive information released by BMW to accompany its latest concept, the BMW i Vision Dee. Unveiled at CES 2023 in Las Vegas, further cementing the show’s importance in the tech mobility world, the awkwardly named i Vision Dee was released alongside a panoply of tech advances, including an emphasis on the ongoing blending of real and virtual worlds.
BMW i Vision Dee concept with E Ink
The concept’s most striking party trick comes courtesy of E Ink embedded body panels, divided into 240 segments. Last year’s BMW iX Flow concept debuted this tech in black and white; the BMW i Vision Dee has the chameleon-like ability to change its exterior using up to 32 colours.
Beyond futuristic peacocking, there are a few potential practical applications for such a showstopping trick – making your car’s colour flash in a busy parking lot, perhaps, or signalling intentions to other drivers. Even the large wheels are segmented into E Ink ‘spokes’, allowing for striking colour combinations.
The form of the panels themselves marks another departure for the Bavarian brand. In recent years, the company’s signature double-kidney grille has expanded into a vast chromed maw, much to the detriment of the once-refined BMW corporate face. This new concept comes full circle, expanding the grille forms into the entire front end of the car, stripping them of decoration and incorporating lights and sensors to make for a simple, elegant ‘face’.
The minimalist theme continues throughout the exterior, which eschews the somewhat gawky proportions of recent mainstream BMW models in favour of a simple, purist line. If anything, it evokes the meticulous balance of ‘three box’ BMWs from the 1970s and 1980s; a bonnet, body and boot. In this respect, BMW is following companies like Hyundai, showcasing electrification through a retro-futuristic, synthwave-drenched visionary approach.
The other key tech is ‘digital performance’. ‘Dee’ stands for Digital Emotional Experience, and the concept blends its bank of screens with what BMW calls a ‘Mixed Reality Slider’. The stripped-back interior has a five-step selector that allows customers to ramp up their information levels from a basic ‘analogue’ set-up all the way to full ‘phygital’ immersion, with dimmable windows that can ‘gradually fade out reality’. On the exterior, the E Ink panels and grille can be used to change the ‘emotional’ appearance of the car.
Will this ever reach production? In terms of silhouette, the BMW i Vision Dee offers a template for the next generation of 3-Series, one of the mainstays of the BMW range. The company’s concepts flip between lightly disguised versions of production-ready cars and far-future speculations. There’s nothing about this new vision that is particularly far-fetched – although the E Ink paintwork probably isn’t ready for the real world just yet.
Wallpaper* Newsletter + Free Download
For a free digital copy of August Wallpaper*, celebrating Creative America, sign up today to receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories
BMW has dubbed its projected design direction the Neue Klasse, marking a post-combustion pivot point for the company. With design stripped back to a minimum, information and entertainment are set to become more and more important, not just to customers but to the company’s bottom line.
BMW is controversially pressing ahead with plans to bundle many common optional extras, like the Parking Assistant Professional system, into a series of monthly subscription models. Self-expression, seamless communication, and all-round digital immersion might well be the future of mobility, but it looks like it’ll come at a price.
Jonathan Bell has written for Wallpaper* magazine since 1999, covering everything from architecture and transport design to books, tech and graphic design. He is now the magazine’s Transport and Technology Editor. Jonathan has written and edited 15 books, including Concept Car Design, 21st Century House, and The New Modern House. He is also the host of Wallpaper’s first podcast.
-
‘Hedonistic and avant-garde’: Rabanne’s Julian Dossena on the legacy of the chainmail 1969 bag
Paco Rabanne’s 1969 chainmail handbag encapsulates the late designer’s futuristic, space-age style. Current creative director Julien Dossena tells Wallpaper* about the bag’s particular pleasures
By Jack Moss Published
-
Postcard from Paris: Olympic fever takes over the streets
On the eve of the opening ceremony of Paris 2024, our correspondent shares her views from the streets of the capital about how the event is impacting the urban landscape.
By Minako Norimatsu Published
-
The Mercury Prize nominees for 2024 have been revealed
Charli XCX, The Last Dinner Party and Beth Gibbons are amongst this year's nominees
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Cadillac SOLLEI Concept journeys on to the higher reaches of the auto market
Cadillac describes its all-electric four-seater convertible concept as an ‘ode to the sun’ as it moves even further upmarket
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Hongqi’s Giles Taylor on the Chinese car maker's imminent arrival in the UK
Hongqi makes China's state limousines. By 2026, it'll have a pair of premium EVs on UK roads. Giles Taylor, its VP of design, tells us about its design approach, and ambition in Europe
By Aysar Ghassan Published
-
We sample the world’s first all-electric DeLorean, a stainless steel marvel for the modern age
Electrogenic brings its brilliance with batteries and motors to bear on the iconic DeLorean DMC-12, giving this classic design the futuristic feel it deserves
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The pure electric Lotus Emeya GT looks and drives like a modern Lotus should
Lotus finds its groove with the elegant Emeya, a true 21st-century grand tourer
By Guy Bird Published
-
Paolo Dellachà, CEO of Automobili Pininfarina, takes us through the hypercar company’s plans
Automobili Pininfarina produces a select portfolio of one-of-a-kind hypercars. Next up, a ‘Luxury Utility Vehicle’. CEO Paolo Dellachà takes us into the future
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
The Hispano Suiza Carmen Sagrera is an esoteric Spanish hypercar
The reborn Spanish car brand continues to forge a unique path with the striking all-electric Carmen Sagrera, a celebration of 120 years of the Hispano Suiza name
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
A unique electric Maserati marks a long-standing partnership with a legendary winery
The Maserati GranCabrio Folgore Tignanello Edition is a one-off celebration of Maserati’s bespoke division and the half century of Tignanello
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Croatian start-up Verne wants its svelte robo-cabs to reshape urban travel
Can the creators of Rimac’s electric hypercar transform urban mobility with Verne, their new autonomous start-up?
By Jonathan Bell Published