Luxury brands together towards the future
Photo: Ling Xiaofeng
Edit: Mei Mei
A few days ago, the automotive field ushered in a large wave of blockbuster brands of blockbuster product releases, involving BMW, Audi, Lincoln, etc., of which Audi's products should be aimed at the next 10 years, and Lincoln is for the next 3, 5 years of the program, BMW is particularly active, has been a mass production product, at the end of this year can be listed. The three century-old automobile brands have made arrangements for short-, medium- and long-term product planning, which is a responsible idea for their respective futures. Let's take stock today.
The new BMW 7 Series/i7: Can't get used to this look?
On April 20, BMW released a new 7 Series/i7 based on the upgraded new generation of CLAR architecture, the new car will be launched worldwide in November this year, in addition to the fuel version and pure electric version, in 2023 will also launch a plug-in hybrid version. In other words, the new BMW 7 Series/i7 we see is basically in mass production. But to be honest, unlike previous generations, the new BMW 7 Series/i7 can be said to have ushered in a new era.
The so-called new era created, mainly reflected in the design, many netizens are not accustomed to this new shape, especially the new 7 series of headlights. However, in the century-old history of automobile development, no design can last forever; many designs fail to win consumer recognition at the beginning of their birth, but become classics many years later. Specific to the BMW 7 Series, from the first generation (E23) to the second generation (E32) to the third generation (E38), the design is similar to the "cigar" style; and to the fourth generation (E65/E66) dominated by Chris Bangor, the BMW 7 Series has become thick and bloated, although it was not optimistic at first, but it laid the design direction for the next 20 years of the BMW 7 Series, and the fifth generation (F01, F02), the sixth generation (G11, G12) are all using this style.
Today's new BMW 7 Series/i7 belongs to the seventh generation (G70), which almost abandons the style created by Chris Bangor and creates the design style of BMW's next stage, obviously the new BMW 7 Series/i7 focuses on "electrification" and "intelligence", but there are still some changes worth a pickpocket.
First, the weakened angel eye, the "double kidney" grille and the Horn of The Horn, replaced by split headlights, the savage growth of the "Piggy Pig Face", the "Horn of the Horn" upgraded to the boomerang style, and the boxy body and tough lines create a Rolls-Royce sense of immediacy.
Second, the application of crystal. The split headlights Lconic Glow daytime running lights and turn lights are crystals created by BMW in collaboration with Swarovski. Inside the car, there are not only crystal gears and iDrive crystal knobs, but also BMW Interaction Bar crystal decorative strips that surround the front row, and an atmosphere light function, which makes the sense of luxury more complete.
Third, the comprehensive innovation of riding comfort. There are not only individual individual seats with merino wool and leather wrapping, but also the boss seat that can lie down, and may even launch a "mobile sprinkler version", with only 2 seats, and the boss seat is equipped with leg rests, desks and screens.
Fourth, turn on the "screen more" mode. In addition to the 12.3-inch + 14.9-inch dual-screen design and HUD head-up display, the rear can also enjoy a 31-inch roof 8K panoramic display, and the rear entertainment control panel is integrated at the door handle for more convenient operation. In addition, a rolls-royce panoramic canopy with the same light conductor can also be selected, which is also the first BMW model to have this function.
At a glance, whether it is compared to the Mercedes-Benz S-Class/EQS that has just been replaced in 2021, or the Audi A8L that is about to be replaced, the new BMW 7 Series/i7 has come up with enough novelty, and as for the market competitiveness, it only depends on whether consumers have paid for it.
The Audi urbansphere concept car breaks the traditional definition of the car
On April 19, Audi unveiled the urbansphere concept car, which emphasizes the core of the design concept from the inside out and the human-centered technology research and development. The urbansphere concept car adopts a 2+2 4-seat layout, but has a length of more than 5.5m and a wheelbase of 3.4m, and also has a high ground clearance, which belongs to the combination of SUV + MPV from the current point of view; it is worth mentioning that the new car is co-created and designed by the Audi China design team and the German design center, and will be built based on the PPE platform in the future.
Regarding the introduction of the Audi urbansphere concept car, there is already a detailed interpretation on the Internet, and we will only look at a few highlights that break through tradition today:
First, the application of lamps. Audi "lamp factory" name, worthy of the name, in the Audi urbansphere concept car, the front grille is composed of light sources, but also can be gradually lit, showing different effects. At the same time, the front and rear LOGO is also lit by light. In addition, the "light language" on the car is interactive and rich... The application of the lamp gives this car a "life".
2. "Lounge in motion". It means a place to live away from the hustle and bustle. The design of the door opening and the red carpet welcome light is the first step, the wooden decoration in the car, sustainable environmental protection materials, etc. are the second step, the maximum tilt angle of the hugging future battleship seat is 60 degrees, and the seat rotates at a certain angle to facilitate getting on and off the car when the door is opened, which is the third step.
3. "Mobile Experience Terminal". With L4 level of automatic driving, the steering wheel and throttle brake pedal and instrument panel can also be fully retracted; the transparent "cinema screen" with the roof can be flipped downwards, which can participate in video conferences or watch movies, and can be used on the whole screen or split screen; the MMI induction control element of the inner door can control various function menus; in addition, eye tracking and gesture control, no contact operating system.
It can be said that the Audi urbansphere concept car shows us the future car, the decisive role is no longer only the product itself, but also the entire ecosystem, through the integration of the full digital ecosystem, can provide users with a variety of services related to the trip, as well as deal with daily affairs outside the trip. It is worth mentioning that the Audi urbansphere concept car can also automatically pick up passengers at the user's place of residence and independently find parking lots or charging facilities, which can be seen from the role of Audi from the car manufacturer to the mobility supplier.
Focusing on intelligence and electrification, Lincoln is serious
On April 21, Lincoln launched a new pure electric concept car Lincoln Star in the world, before that, the Lincoln brand has not made any action in the field of pure electric vehicles, and the Lincoln Star concept car is the lincoln brand's first pure electric model, but also Lincoln's first attempt to embrace electrification, and at the same time, it is also a comprehensive presentation of Lincoln brand design DNA 2.0. More importantly, the Lincoln Star is not a concept car in the pure sense, because by 2025, the Lincoln brand will launch three new pure electric vehicles based on this concept car, which will be increased to the fourth model by 2026, and a complete lineup of intelligently connected and electrified products will be launched globally by 2030.
The design of the Lincoln Star concept car is not as imaginative as the above Audi urbano concept car, but there is no lack of highlights, and let's take a look:
First, the application of lighting. Although Lincoln does not have the name of "lamp factory", it does have the name of "lamp factory". The illuminated starlight LOGO, the lightable middle net, the illuminated hood, the illuminated wheel eyebrows, and the rear lighting set, Lincoln also used the light to the extreme.
Second, the front of the car that can be opened. The front of the car becomes storage space and can be opened in a very sci-fi way; the hood is made of color-changing glass, which is dimmed when parked to protect privacy; and the rear of the car is designed with a fishing seat.
Third, a different kind of luxury. Rolls-Royce-style swing door design, LCD screen with doors running across the left and right, knob shift mechanism, etc. You may have seen it; but the expandable cockpit is a "rarity", the Lincoln Star concept car cancels the architecture of the traditional car interior to make the layout more flexible; it also provides three reshuvenation moods to revitalize the comfort mode, which can control the sound effects, fragrance and interior lighting of the entire cockpit.
Compared with luxury brands such as BBA, Lincoln's pace on the road to electrification is not fast, but the Lincoln Star concept car allows us to see the design language and main highlights of Lincoln's future pure electric model, and at the same time, it also allows us to understand Lincoln's alternative interpretation of luxury.
Write at the end
The competition of the new era of luxury brands has begun, in the context of the era of intelligent and electrified development, BMW, Audi, Lincoln have taken the lead in sampling, as for who will lead the future, we wait and see.