In our relentless effort to dig up each juicy element in regards to the new iX3, we stumbled upon one thing sudden. This isn’t the primary fashionable Neue Klasse mannequin, neither is it an early have a look at the i3 due in 2026. So what precisely are we ? A glossy sedan that quietly reveals up on official BMW web sites, although not as a bodily idea. As a substitute, this four-door EV exists solely nearly, featured in animations demonstrating the iX3’s driver help techniques.
The design itself is intriguing. It doesn’t resemble the 2023 Imaginative and prescient Neue Klasse idea or the novel VDX that adopted. Judging by its totally enclosed grille, the unnamed sedan is probably going electrical. Its kidney design is nearer to the three Collection than to any of the ideas. Nonetheless, the prolonged, angular windshield does echo the Imaginative and prescient Neue Klasse.
It raises the query of whether or not this design predates each the Imaginative and prescient Neue Klasse and the sooner i Imaginative and prescient Dee. To be honest, BMW does describe it as a “computer-generated idea automobile,” so maybe it’s unwise to learn an excessive amount of into it. The automotive was designed particularly for animations showcasing the iX3’s autonomous driving options and seems in a number of clips highlighting hands-free driving situations.
Nonetheless, it’s cool to see that BMW created a novel design somewhat than utilizing an present mannequin like the three Collection. Alternatively, it may have teased the 2026 i3 with a camouflaged prototype. Whereas the sedan proven right here has nothing to do with the upcoming manufacturing EV, it stays an enchanting glimpse nonetheless. I’d describe this hypothetical automotive as an evolution of the 2020 Idea i4, infused with some Neue Klasse design DNA.
Chances are high it’s going to solely ever exist on BMW’s web sites, and perhaps that’s for the very best. In spite of everything, spy images counsel the precise i3 “NA0” might be an actual head-turner. By extension, the next-generation 3 Collection “G50” also needs to be a placing automotive, carrying ahead all of the hallmarks of the Neue Klasse. The corporate’s design boss, Adrian van Hooydonk, even advised us earlier this 12 months that it’ll be troublesome to inform them aside:
“I feel you’ll be hard-pressed [from a distance] to inform which one is the electrical one and which one is the combustion engine. It’s going to be that shut.” [Photos: BMW]