The one who once held up the torch has returned.

On the evening of November 11, 2020, BMW held the NEXT Gen Future Summit online, and released the heavyweight pure electric SUV iX. The prototype of this car is the iNEXT pure electric concept car released by BMW two years ago, and BMW has made radical innovations on this car. However, the official introduction of this car during the press conference felt “ambiguous” and did not provide much of the core information that everyone was looking forward to.

As someone who was preparing to write a headline, I was petrified on the spot. The so-called clever woman is hard to cook without rice, how could this information be enough? But after watching the official 13 promotional videos again, I couldn’t help but sigh – this is the real deal!

iX Debut: Half-covered with the Pipa

Before the press conference, the preheat documentary had already severely criticized BMW’s secrecy about the iX, with only two genuine live-action contents in the entire series, one wheel of the iX, and a rear light that flashed by in the workshop. The subtitle’s off-screen voice repeatedly indicated that BMW executives were really good at “blabbering” and not showing anything.

As someone who noticed that the press conference was only 15 minutes long, I actually had some expectations, but the amount of information revealed about the iX during the press conference was still less than I expected. The specific battery capacity, motor parameters, body size, driving assistance hardware, chips… none of these were mentioned.

It’s not my criticism, but at most, the iX can be considered a debut.

But since we’re here, we should still introduce this big figure properly.

Appearance: Recognizable

“We live mentally in the future of 5-10 years.”

This sentence was said by Domagoj Dukec, BMW’s Head of Design, in the iX’s preheat documentary. As a designer, especially an automotive designer, their aesthetics need to be ahead of their time, after all, the cars they design may be admired for decades.

Leaving aside beauty or ugliness, the iX has a definite futuristic feel in terms of exterior design. Apart from the logo, I basically can’t find many of the current BMW design elements at first glance.

During the press conference, BMW did not specifically introduce their use of new front and rear light group, new D-pillar, and so on, because almost everything that can be perceived as visually “new” on the iX is from top to bottom.

It completely gets rid of the style of BMW’s petrol cars, which is actually very important.However, perhaps due to the fear that the design style of the car model will be too drastically changed and people will not recognize it, BMW still retains the double kidney grille. As a pure electric vehicle, the grille is naturally closed.

Honestly, the front face of the iX is not my cup of tea, but I think other parts of the car, such as the side and rear, are good. Moreover, if you observe carefully, you can even find a little bit of the i3’s shadow from the side profile. As a longtime fan of the i series, I silently gave a thumbs-up in my heart.

Interior: From German Stability to French Romance

For the iX’s interior, BMW has made significant changes from its original conservative style to consider a lot of aesthetic designs on details like color matching, modeling, and button layout in the cockpit.

This time, the iX has adopted a cohesive material wrap in the area of the door panels, center console, and armrests that is both fresh and full of atmosphere, giving a perception of a luxurious home decoration.

Well-arranged metallic decorative plates on vents and door handles help create a more layered style. The diamond-cut iDrive knob and seat adjustment buttons are also very jewel-like in style, making the cabin’s modernity more delicate and luxurious. The ambient lighting effect should be beautiful when lit through the button.

Additionally, the wooden panels on the armrest area incorporate backlit touch areas, adding some exquisite high-tech flavor to the humanistic design.

After watching several photos, I asked my colleague 63: “Do you feel familiar with the interior design and concept?” To my relief, 63 smiled and gave the answer in my heart – “DS.”

Don’t get me wrong, this is definitely a compliment to BMW. The iX’s cockpit design has a strong French charm.

Designing the interior as a private space with emphasis on aesthetics, style, unity, and luxury, to some extent, gives the vehicle an identity beyond its tool attribute.

In simple terms, “design the car like your own private palace.” For a car like the iX, who would want their cockpit to be a bare shell?

Performance is Good, But Not Surprising

Regarding performance, the iX gave some information.In official information, this big guy, which is close to the size of the X5, is equipped with BMW’s fifth generation eDrive electric drive technology. The power section has twin electric motors with a maximum output of 503 horsepower, corresponding to a zero to one hundred acceleration time of less than 5 seconds.

The vehicle’s comprehensive electricity consumption per hundred kilometers is less than 21 kWh, which is actually a relatively high number. Fortunately, the official statement shows that the iX’s WLTP range will exceed 600 kilometers. According to the electricity consumption calculation, the iX’s battery capacity may exceed 100 kWh.

In my personal opinion, the data of the iX is quite good. As a comparison, the current long-range upgrade version of the Model X NDEC has a range of 605 kilometers and a zero to one hundred acceleration of 4.6 seconds, but BMW’s products in late 2020 can’t be considered too surprising, they are just adequate.

Intelligent: The Main Course Has Yet to Come, But the Menu is Already Available

BMW at least released some information about the performance of the iX. However, there is scant information so far about the intelligence of the iX, especially in terms of driver assistance, which shows the high level of confidentiality.

Various online reports have indicated that the iNEXT will feature BMW’s top-tier driver assistance system. This scene from the promotional video seems to confirm it:

BMW’s automatic driving AI expert Andre Roskoi said that data fusion from different sensors is difficult because their perception content and accuracy are different.

What is noteworthy is that lidar appeared several times in the discussion.

Compared to millimeter-wave radar, lidar has a wider perception range and higher accuracy, but the price is higher, so few mass-produced cars use it. Although the official statement did not confirm that the iX will definitely be equipped with lidar, this should be related.

However, BMW stated in the promotional material that the iX will use a new generation of digital architecture and sensing systems (hinting at lidar again?), and its data processing capability is 20 times that of current vehicles.

BMW’s electrical architecture planning was actually exposed at the end of April this year. Only the L3 and L4/L5 solutions would use lidar.Markdown English text:

Considering that the iX is a model mass-produced in 2021, it is highly likely that it uses the L3 scheme shown in the figure below. The perception system includes six cameras, a forward-facing lidar, and four millimeter-wave radars, while there is also a set of L2 fallback systems used for redundancy.

The assisted driving chip in this architecture consists of two high-frequency EyeQ5s, while one mid-frequency EyeQ5 is also included in the redundant system.

Overall, although BMW did not specifically introduce the assisted driving parameters of the new car, it is highly likely that the iX is the BMW’s most advanced vehicle in terms of assisted driving to date.

Other Content (Beginning of the text)

It must be said that the information released during the iX launch is scarce, and many of the contents are implicit. However, I found several fantastic details outside the launch event.

In the iX promotional video, the sunroof can be adjusted to a “frosted glass” state through a button to increase sunshade effect.

In the preheating video, BMW engineers said that carbon fiber is a good thing.

This “plot” actually contains information: the iX will adopt a carbon fiber structure body similar to that of the 7 Series, which not only gains lightweight but also has better mechanical properties. “Stiffness” is a keyword in the video, which usually means better handling.

By the way, if you look closely, you will find that the rear wheels of the iX have a visible outward inclination, based on which I think the iX is likely to be equipped with an air suspension. Moreover, the entire taillight group of the iX is on the tailgate, without being “split in half” like the tailgate, which is similar to the Lucid Air.

Speaking of Lucid, BMW showcased a 5-series electric prototype named “Lucy” in the preheating video.

This seemingly ordinary 5 Series is actually a powerful 3-motor beast, drifting and smoking throughout the video shoot. The cameraman even vomited at the end of the shoot. I would like to ask BMW, with such a company culture, are you still hiring?

But the entertainment doesn’t stop there.

Your Car, Built on the Unreal Engine

Nowadays, game engines have high graphics quality and rich functionalities. Can they be used for development and modeling?

BMW has done just that. It has partnered with Epic Games to develop the 3D model of a new car on the “Unreal” engine. Once the model is completed and uploaded to the network, BMW employees around the world can use VR technology to experience the design results of the vehicle in advance.

Compared to making a physical demo, this approach is cheaper and faster.

So these BMW employees wearing VR devices during work hours are not slacking off; they are working diligently.

Some say that VR is just a gimmick.

Alright, now let me show you a big baby.

The Strongest Model Driving Simulator in the Milky Way

You might have thought of this type of simulator from the subtitle:

Sorry, your imagination is not enough. BMW’s simulator looks like this:

This simulator has a weird name-Fasi (sounds like “发几” in Chinese).
“`Do you love Fasi? The engineer from BMW Fasi says he loves it, but he loves his wife more. Watching this scene, I was once again successfully embarrassed by German-style dry humor.

However, the strongest in the galaxy is not just talk. Fasi, the huge multi-axis simulator, runs on a specially designed track with a long guide rail inside.

Fasi not only simulates the dynamic tilt of the vehicle body but also simulates the acceleration of the vehicle on the track by moving the platform on the guide rail. The official claims that its maximum acceleration is comparable to that of a BMW M3.

With the help of this powerful simulator, BMW engineers can experience the vehicle’s dynamic performance and obtain relevant data without having to go on the road, which is not only efficient but also safe.

What? There are electric scooters too?

As a supporting role (or protagonist), BMW also released an electric scooter called the CE 04.

When I saw this scooter, I immediately recognized it, which I had seen three years ago!

At that time, this scooter was still called Conceptlink, a concept product that looked cool but had no hope of mass production. Although the name has been changed to CE 04 this time, the design of this scooter can be said to be a great replica of the concept car at that time.

Like the prototype, the CE 04 has a sexy single swingarm and uses a sci-fi and “electric” enclosed hub. There is also a sliding storage box under the seat.

Moreover, the “outrageous” design details on the concept car have also been realized in a more mass-producible form on the CE 04, such as the holographic digital instrument on the concept car that has become a 10.25-inch LCD instrument, and the ultra-flat headlight have been replaced with bright and spirited LED lights.

The official introduction reveals that CE 04 adopts a flat battery pack design, which allows it to leave a storage space for helmets under the seat and gives the vehicle a lower center of gravity.

Unlike the hub motor commonly used in domestic electric motorcycles, CE 04 has a motor placed under the rear seat to drive the rear wheel.

All these reasonable structures make CE 04 look very likely to be mass-produced, although no official energy consumption or power data has been released.

This is not over yet. BMW has designed an extremely sci-fi light-strip riding suit for CE 04. The light strip on this riding suit can control the lighting content by pressing the cuff, which is simply cool.

This is not the first, nor the only one

Most friends may not know that before CE 04, BMW actually had a mass-produced pure electric pedal called C evolution.

This electric two-wheeled vehicle was released in 2014, with a size similar to the company’s flagship pedal C650GT, and the data for its 2016 model is as follows:

• Battery capacity of 8 kWh

• Endurance of 159 km

• Maximum power of 35 kW

• 0 to 100 km/h acceleration in 6.8 s

• Top speed of 128 km/h

• Maximum charging power of 3 kW, fully charged in 3.5 hours

Like CE 04, it also has a single-arm design, as well as a motor+drivetrain.

This acceleration-hungry pedal is as eco-friendly and quiet as BMW’s cars, and it was a cross-era product by using electronic instruments in the era when motorcycle ABS was not yet standard.

However, the practicality of this product is greatly reduced due to its dry weight of 275kg, endurance of 159km, and smaller storage space than C650 GT, coupled with its expensive price. Its market performance is very bleak, just like the big brother i3.

This vehicle was even introduced into China at an official price of 197,000 yuan, but it has now been discontinued due to lack of popularity.But the failure of the trial of C Evolution has not extinguished BMW’s footsteps towards electrification.

In the promotional video of CE 04, there is a black motorcycle picture hanging on the designer’s wall.

This is the self-balancing pure electric concept motorcycle Motorrad NEXT 100 released by BMW in 2016.

And in May last year, BMW released an electric street bike called Motorrad Vision DC Roadster.

Although these two are just concept vehicles, after the setback of C Evolution, there are still successive appearances of electrification concept products. This shows that BMW has not given up.

So is the iX.

Conclusion

At the Frankfurt Auto Show in 2011, BMW debuted two concept cars, the i3 and the i8. As a middle school student then, I had no idea about BMW’s electrification vision, but was deeply attracted by these two advanced-looking concept cars. I thought if this was what future electric cars looked like, it would be fantastic. After that, the i8 stayed on my computer desktop for three years, becoming the longest-used wallpaper.

On June 20, 2020, the last BMW i8 car rolled off the production line at the Leipzig factory in Germany, ending the official production and farewell to the historical stage.

Today, 9 years later, when it comes to the pioneers in the electrification of the automotive industry, few people still think of BMW, replaced by Tesla, BYD, and even Volkswagen.

The wounded BMW on i3, i8 and C Evolution may not be as brave as before. “After the i3, BMW has never launched another pure electric vehicle.“

But the wheel of electrification has not stopped due to BMW’s low ebb.

Until recently, BMW has again hung the i-series label and launched the iX3, but this time is different from Frankfurt in 2011. Once launched, the network was again full of accusations:

“Lack of innovation”

“Backward technology”

“Oil to electricity”

“It’s not the thinking of making electric cars at all”

Times have changed, it has to be said that BMW’s identity has changed from the leader to the follower. If BMW wants to regain its peak, it faces not only various technical challenges and corporate-level changes, but also the heart demon of electric vehicle failure in the past.During the period when automotive giants such as Volkswagen and Ford actively embraced electrification and invested heavily in developing pure electric platforms, Oliver Zipse, the CEO of BMW Group, had always believed that BMW’s electrification strategy was “reasonably scaled” and that the development of a dedicated pure electric platform was expensive and unnecessary, thus electric vehicles and combustion engine vehicles should be using a compatible platform together.

For this reason, I once felt sorry for BMW.

Fortunately, Oliver Zipse is not an obstinate person. After seeing the rapid development of the electric vehicle industry and the unique advantages of pure electric platforms in electrification, the pure electric platform has returned to the BMW Group’s electrification plan for 2025. According to Automobilwoche, BMW has launched a department for developing pure electric platforms in July this year.

In comparison to a prodigal son returning, I prefer to describe this move as setting out again.

Although the iX did not shine as brightly in the NEXT Gen release as the i3 and i8, it is clearly a more market-oriented and commercially viable product.

Looking at the CE 04, I saw that BMW still retains the beautiful imagination and creativity that was so inspiring back in 2011.

As mentioned at the beginning, BMW’s presentation this time provided very little information. I think maybe it’s not completely ready yet and there may be a lot of things that iX hasn’t reached mass production status yet.

However, I am still very happy because I faintly feel that the person who raised the torch nine years ago has returned.

This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.