At the 2024 BMW Group Annual Financial Conference held yesterday, the BMW Vision Neue Klasse X concept car made its world debut, bringing the concept and technology of future mobility to the sports utility vehicle (SAV) segment, which caused heated discussions among fans. There are so many remarkable places to explore and discover from the perspective of the front face of the new generation of BMW.
Or a separate double kidney grille
全新几何造型,致敬经典Garmisch
In the new generation of BMW's concept car, which debuted at the IAA in 2023, BMW completely integrated the brand's iconic kidney grille with the headlights, presenting an avant-garde minimalist look. Even if it is no longer circular, the twin headlight design has been retained, which is of course very BMW.
In addition to the same light cluster design, the biggest difference between BMW and its predecessor is the still independent kidney grille: a vertical octagon presents a significant three-dimensional geometry and becomes the visual focus again.
The kidney grille is immediately reminiscent of BMW's Garmisch concept at the 2019 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, a classic replica of the 2002ti Garmisch model created by car designer Marcello Gandini in 1970.
It can be seen that BMW intends to pay homage to the classic Garmisch on BMW's new generation X concept car, but why is this car?
The name of a new generation is reopened
Inheritance and transcendence, from the past, from the future
After Garmisch, Marcello Gandini was involved in the design of the first BMW 5 Series (E12), launched in 1972, which was the fifth model after BMW's 1960s Neue Klasse concept (the concept of a "new generation" made its debut in BMW history). The Garmisch was first born in 1970 at the time of the success of the original Neue Klasse and saw BMW move towards the digital era we are familiar with today.
After a while, everything makes sense: the avant-garde design of the Garmisch kidney grille and the creation of the original E12 5 Series are inseparable from the reinvention and far-reaching value that the original new generation model brought to BMW. Now that the name of the new generation has been relaunched, BMW has reinterpreted the vertical hexagonal kidney grille on the Garmisch model, which witnessed the glorious achievements of the new generation, and applied it to the latest second generation of the new generation concept car, as well as the new concise design style of the transformation to electrification, and even resonate deeply with long-time BMW fans - the new generation BMW X Concept car, from the past and from the future.
A week ago, Mr. Marcello Gandini passed away at the age of 85. Born in 1938, he was one of the most influential automotive designers of the 20th century, and his designs still have an unexpected value today, as evidenced by BMW's next-generation X Concept. On this occasion, we also remember the master and pay tribute to the legend. BMW's Inheritance and transcendence is inseparable from the vigorous vitality brought by classic designs like this one after another, and it also helps to forge immortal brand value.
Compared to BMW's design
The new forces still have a long way to go in luxury
Compared with the new-generation concept car, what is the degree of restoration of the new-generation model after it is put into mass production? Duke, the design director of the BMW brand, once said that the new-generation concept car will completely change the BMW brand, and the realism of BMW's new-generation concept car is very realistic. The same should be true for BMW's new-generation X Concept, which naturally means that we can expect to experience the design charm of "from the past, from the future" in the new generation of models that will be officially produced from the second half of 2025.
BMW Group Chairman Zipzer has also said that the "new generation" will "focus mainly on the (mid-size) segment and will not cover all segments." "This is very interesting, which means that a number of high-end new forces such as Ideal, NIO, Hongmeng Zhixing, and Zeekr will directly face the competition of BMW's new-generation models within the expected price range of consumers.
It is very obvious that compared with BMW's design inheritance and transcendence, the homogenization of the design of new power models is inevitably boring. Even if it looks pleasing to the eye and even has a sense of luxury, it lacks the minimalism of historical precipitation, or the "new" family design language, it is like water without a source and wood without roots.
Of course, the progress of the new power models in terms of product power and cost performance is obvious to all, but the design gap with BMW in the transition to electrification is still unable to make up for it, so that although it claims to be luxurious, the visual uniqueness and unique value of the luxury brand cannot be reflected at all. To embark on a path of one's own, we must not only hope for overtaking in corners in three or five years, but also face up to the gap with a real century-old luxury brand like BMW.
Write at the end:
BMW pursues a pleasing body and mind and moving feelings, which can also be achieved through visual luxury. A BMW that is good-looking enough and evokes the feelings of users can make them can't help but look back and enjoy it for a while after getting out of the car and parking it, so that they are in a good mood. What makes BMW a BMW is not only the sheer driving pleasure it brings, but also the appeal of its inherited and innovative design, which is also part of the BMW Joy.
Scroll down for more images of BMW's next-generation X Concept:
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