Design Car BMW GINA

BMW GINA Design

BMW showed up to Geneva with a new concept called the Vision ConnectedDrive. As you can see, it’s an almost impossibly low roadster with trick, Kaiser Darrin-style sliding doors.

It also shows off BMW’s new interior design language that they’re calling “Layering.” Says BMW, “The term ‘layering’ describes a new approach to the BMW Group’s concept of design and its design language, redefining the way surfaces, interfaces and materials have been treated in the past.” Oddly, BMW had very little to say about the design, powertrain and/or handling of the Vision vehicle at the press conference, instead they chose to focus on the technologies available to the driver and passenger. It’s all part of what they are calling ConnectedDrive.

The first is convenience. BMW (and most other brands) already offer a form of this connected technology. For example, when your phone connects via Bluetooth to your car. However, BMW aims to take it a step further. Imagine your car then reading your calendar, figuring out that you have a meeting in 25 minutes, noting the address and calculating the fastest route possible (taking traffic information into account, of course) and then telling you where to park when you get there. We like it.

BMW GINA Interior

Next up is Infotainment, a tragic name no doubt, but the technology is pretty cool. BMW was quick to point out that the more labor and brain cell intensive stuff is purely for the passenger, not the driver. Let’s say you drive by a museum. ConnectedDrive tells your passenger as much, then tells them what’s on display as well as the museum’s hours of operation and then – because the car is plugged into your credit card – buys you some tickets.

BMW GINA Engine

The final component of the ConnectedDrive trifecta is safety. Car to car proximity communication is the next step in active vehicle safety, but BMW didn’t go into specifics. We imagine tha the car will be able to sense that another car is nearby and not crash into it. As often happens here at Geneva, there wasn’t enough time in the 15-minute long press conference for them to go into any great detail, though they did mention “technologies we haven’t even thought of yet!” And there you have it.