Home » BMW’s i Vision Dee Concept Is A Lot Of Goofy VR Stuff Wrapped Around A Genuinely Great Looking Car That Can Change Colors

BMW’s i Vision Dee Concept Is A Lot Of Goofy VR Stuff Wrapped Around A Genuinely Great Looking Car That Can Change Colors

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Remember a few weeks ago when BMW pretended their social media accounts were hacked by some AI named Dee and it was all kind of embarrassing for everyone? Hopefully, you don’t, because you have a rich inner life and you don’t need to dwell on such frippery. I remember, though. Well, the good news is that this “Dee” isn’t just some new AI assistant voice, it was teasing a concept car. A concept car that was just shown at CES, and while it’s kind of laden with eye-rolling virtual reality bullshit, the truth is that under all of that crap is a really appealing-looking EV that feels fresh and modern and still maintains some key BMW identity. Plus, those color-changing e-ink exterior panels are pretty damn cool. Let’s take a look at this thing.

BMW clearly thinks this is a big deal, as they spent a whole mess of money hiring Arnold Schwarzenegger and renting KITT (I imagine they threw in David Hasslelhoff for free) for an overly-long video they had made to show off the car via some kind of convoluted reminiscing of 1980s romantic movie tropes, or something. Here, you can watch if you really want:

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Sure, it’s fun to hear the word “bullshit” multiple times in an official BMW video, because deep down I’m still a child, but there’s a lot of trying very hard going on there that sort of clouds the important stuff: this is a new electric concept with a very modern, distilled-down sort of styling based on the key traits of the iconic BMW Neue Klasse cars; the car has 240 e-ink panels that permit the exterior color of the car to change to any one of 32 colors (that’s twice as many colors as a Commodore 64 had) as well as being able to make patterns like stripes; and the car’s windshield incorporates a full-window display area that can display instruments as well as some kind of VR worlds crap no one will ever use.

I should also note that, a little confusingly, it appears that another sentient car, the accomplished racing 1963 Volkswagen Beetle known as Herbie, showed up onstage with Dee and KITT, though was absent from the video:

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Seriously, Hasselhoff got an active part and Herbie didn’t? That’s another good reason to use the word “bullshit.”

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Whatever. Let’s look at the styling of this concept, because it likely – hopefully – hints at the design direction BMW will be taking in the near future. The most notable thing about it is how, well, car-like it is. It’s a simplified, almost (but not quite) cartoonified vision of the classic BMW sports sedan shape. They’re not doing anything strange with the proportions, they’ve minimized the detail which leaves the details they are incorporating, like the Hofmeister kink on the rear side window and the wide BMW kidney not-grille room to have more presence and impact.

Fabian Kirchbauer Photography

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Personally, I think this approach started from someone outside of automotive design who tried his hand at automotive design almost 25 years ago: fashion/industrial designer Marc Newson’s concept car for Ford, the 021C:

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The Dee’s look feels like it’s inspired by the general concepts of simplification and almost turning the car into something close to a symbol of itself, if that makes sense. Newsom’s ideas never entirely made it to production, mainstream auto design, but perhaps BMW will be giving this approach a chance in the near future. They should, because I think it works.

Fabian Kirchbauer Photography

All of the non-body panels like the windows and the not-grille area appear to be displays of some sort. This allows the front and rear lighting panels to change color and looks, and also seems to allow you to display fake people on the side windows:

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Is this something people want? Maybe for privacy? I’m assuming that these displays still keep the windows transparent from the inside, otherwise this is a complete non-starter. Here’s how BMW describes it:

Welcome scenario with voice and phygital icons
The digital experience already begins outside the vehicle, with a personalised welcome scenario that combines graphical elements, light and sound effects. Natural language serves as the simplest, most intuitive form of interaction, enabling perfect understanding between humans and their vehicles. The headlights and the closed BMW kidney grille also form a common phygital (fusion of physical and digital) icon on a uniform surface, allowing the vehicle to produce different facial expressions. This means BMW i Vision Dee can talk to people and, at the same time, express moods such as joy, astonishment or approval visually. BMW i Vision Dee can also project an image of the driver’s avatar onto the side window to further personalise the welcome scenario.

There could be some application of this stuff as enhancements to a car’s current visual communication systems, turn signals and taillights. Because as you know, it’s currently difficult to express joy via your turn signals. But not impossible.

I’m not expecting the exterior display windows to make it to production, but those e-ink body panels that let you change the car’s color are genuinely cool, and it would be exciting to see that on a production vehicle, because, well, just look at it:

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I mean, hot damn, that’s fun. It’s so much fun that I can almost make myself not think about how a minor scrape against an underground parking lot column would be bankruptingly expensive, even, or how a fender bender repair would jack up your insurance premiums to where you were just growing a new kidney every month to give to the insurance company. It’s a concept, though! And that’s not the time to worry about stupid reality.

Speaking of stupid reality, BMW showed that the car has multiple settings that seem to let you dilute your reality experience by mixing it with the virtual kind. From their press release:

BMW Mixed Reality Slider: into the virtual world in five steps
The BMW Mixed Reality Slider, in combination with the advanced Head-up Display, is the digital highlight and central operating control of BMW i Vision Dee. Using shy-tech sensors on the instrument panel, drivers can decide for themselves how much digital content they want to see on the advanced Head-Up Display. The five-step selection ranges from analogue, to driving-related information, to the contents of the communications system, to augmented-reality projection, right up to entry into virtual worlds. In parallel, dimmable windows can also be used to gradually fade out reality. Mixed reality can be experienced in BMW i Vision Dee in an immersive way that engages different senses without requiring any additional tools, creating a new dimension of driving pleasure for the user.

Now, at first glance, this seems like a terrible idea. Upon reading further, though, I think most of you will agree that maybe that wasn’t a fair assessment: it’s idiotic. Like, what the hell is “shy-tech?” And I guess mixing in augmented reality could be useful for things like overlaying warnings or arrows for driving directions, sure. Okay, maybe they mean stuff like that, and just weren’t really saying it? But do we really want to “fade out reality?” Isn’t that kind of nihilistic and grim? It sounds like a euphemism for assisted suicide.

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And, the way they’re showing the “entry into virtual worlds” it appears that all of the windows become screens to show some kind of VR world like Second Life or whatever the hell that Meta thing is, only you’re in your car, which makes no damn sense. Just stay at home and put on one of those VR headsets, that way you don’t even need to put on pants. All of this is just CES show car goofballery, anyway.

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Window-displays aside, the interior looks pretty appealing. It’s minimalistic, but not cold, as everything seems upholstered and padded, and up front while it’s not quite a bench seat, the seats do join via a padded armrest and aren’t separated by a big console, so some light affectionate physical contact seems possible, and anyone who tells you that they don’t need more of that in their lives is lying to you.

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In back, the rear seat wraps around into the sides of the car, which looks cozy and comfortable. This looks like a highly nappable environment:

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Overall, if we filter out the silly VR crap and just look at what BMW is really showing here: an EV with a potentially great, clean, distinctive design and some novel tech features, then I think we can feel pretty good about a future with Dee, as long as she knows when to, you know, back off a little bit.

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Let’s see what this evolves into in our actual reality which, I’m happy to say, we can’t yet fade out. I mean without drugs, at least.

Update: Jeezis, how did I miss “phygital?” Not only is it cloying and eye-rolly, it actually sounds like you’re trying to vomit up a condom full of MDMA you swallowed before getting on your flight. Oy.

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Clark B
Clark B
1 year ago

Love the physical styling, but as others have said, fuck the VR and I’ll even be bold enough to say fuck the color change panels. Yeah it’s cool…but imagine what a fender bender would cost to repair. And it’s BMW, you know that changing colors would be a subscription based service with additional charges for anything moderately interesting.

MaximillianMeen
MaximillianMeen
1 year ago

Video notes:
Oh the irony of Arnie reminiscing about movies using real, physical props while a song best known for its iconic animated video plays.

Oh the double irony of Arnie talking about cars that people actually own in a promo for a car company that expects people to subscribe to physical features like heated seats.

Car notes:
The VR window feature will make it much easier to dehumanize other drivers, thereby making it much easier to shoot them during a fit of road rage.

Mike F.
Mike F.
1 year ago

Hey, those virtual people on the backseat windows could make HOV lanes much more accessible!

Charlie Hartman
Charlie Hartman
1 year ago

Two round headlights, maybe even two round taillights, and this will be the best looking BMW in 20 years.

Theotherotter
Theotherotter
1 year ago

The obvious, but not trite, references to classic BMW design and themes, apparently good proportions and the simplicity of surfacing of the body make this really appealing. It reminds me of the Garmisch concept of the early ’70s. The one thing that disappoints me is the sort of fake DLO, with the graphic panel visually integrated into the side glass. On the one hand I mostly find it kind of a success, in that it hides the high beltline and is a lot of what makes the proportions look so good, at least in the images. But on the other, I’d rather just have more glass.

Stef Schrader
Stef Schrader
1 year ago
Reply to  Theotherotter

Yeah, that underwire-for-windows effect is really not doing it for me. I know why it’s there—to hide a high beltline, as noted—but I don’t think it needs to be there.

FUCK YOU
FUCK YOU
1 year ago
Reply to  Stef Schrader

It’s shapewear for cars.

Thad Sauer
Thad Sauer
1 year ago

Finally, a well-proportioned BMW show car. No over-wrought grill, but it does have a whiff of Plymouth Breeze about it. It feels a bit retro, in a way.

FullMetalJet
FullMetalJet
1 year ago

Just on the looks: it has some serious Nissan IDx vibes and I’m all for it.

FUCK YOU
FUCK YOU
1 year ago

I’m sorry, but “phygital” is a dealbreaker for me.

MATTinMKE
MATTinMKE
1 year ago

Really like the look of the actual car. Body in particular looks much better than the latest BMW crap. Interior looks good too. The color changing body is a cool feature, but the rest of the tech garbage can be kicked to the curb.

Anders
Anders
1 year ago

Fashion designer? I’d call Newson a product designer first, maybe we could hope for a Newson/BMW collab. Like when Apple brought him on the Watch project. Without him I’m sure BMW won’t leave that simple design alone, it needs the car designer signature: A bit of scoop, sculpture and plenty of superficial detailing..

Rafael
Rafael
1 year ago

Looks great, hopefully they won’t destroy it with tons of creases and vertices on the production (?) model.

10001010
10001010
1 year ago

“…renting KITT (I imagine they threw in David Hasslelhoff for free) for an overly-long video”
“Here, you can watch if you really want:”

Is this a joke? Of course I wanna watch a video with the original K.I.T.T. and Michael Knight.

Data
Data
1 year ago

If you put a Fratzog on this and told me it was the new electric Dodge Charger, I would have believed you.

In the real world, all the e-ink panels would probably be set to grayscale.
I would imagine, this being BMW, that the ability to change colors would be locked behind a paywall. Certain colors would cost more. Patterns and multiple colors at the same time would be even more, etc.

Honda Fit is the Answer
Honda Fit is the Answer
1 year ago

You know, windows that can turn completely opaque sound like a fantastic way to block out rays from the sun and thus waste less battery cooling off the interior in the summer.

SquareTaillight2002
SquareTaillight2002
1 year ago

80’s girl looked pretty darned happy in her old unreliable 320i. How did I reach an age where my worldview aligns with Arnold Schwarzenegger?

More importantly, where can I get my hands on a 32 color e-Ink display?

Mr.Asa
Mr.Asa
1 year ago

the seats do join via a padded armrest and aren’t separated by a big console, so some light affectionate physical contact seems possible, and anyone who tells you that they don’t need more of that in their lives is lying to you.
Hell, I’ll be the first to admit it.

Its an interesting concept. I hope the actual hard design elements and styling cues make it into the real world, but I agree that the color change panels probably will get left out in the cold for a generation or two.

Otter
Otter
1 year ago

How does it not have illuminated double kidneys out front and round taillights that display the BMW roundel on startup? That’s a real missed opportunity.

Citrus
Citrus
1 year ago

I like how BMW designers finally make something that looks decent and, in an effort to ensure their cars aren’t appealing, the company decided to coat it in VR shit nobody wants.

Also find whoever made up “phygital” and beat them with sticks.

William Domer
William Domer
1 year ago
Reply to  Citrus

Digital sticks? Nope real lumber. Plus this looks like the Datsun that Nissan promised a few years ago. I want the Datsun

Arch Duke Maxyenko
Arch Duke Maxyenko
1 year ago

The name, though, was it originally iDVision and at the last moment legal finally stepped in and told them that VW already had one of those and then changed it to i Vision Dee(z nutz)?

Dusty Kornphartz
Dusty Kornphartz
1 year ago

I really like the shape of that. Love the simple forms like the Mk1 Fiesta and Mk1 Rabbit/Golf. The Vanagon. Give me something really clean and simple.

Dusty Kornphartz
Dusty Kornphartz
1 year ago

Hey, maybe a project for our resident auto designers to DEE-ugly some of the current BMWs.

No Kids, Just Bikes
No Kids, Just Bikes
1 year ago

If I can make the horn yell ‘AW COME ON’ like Sweet Dee from Always Sunny I. am. in.

Also, do you think the rear windows will be able to make it look like trump is in the back seat, like the MAGA trucks where I live?

Mr. Frick
Mr. Frick
1 year ago

You can tell I have shy-tech cause I’m acting all phygital.

Mr. Frick
Mr. Frick
1 year ago
Reply to  Mr. Frick

Damn, now I can’t get Olivia Newton-John singing Physical out of my head.

TOSSABL
TOSSABL
1 year ago

I like the form quite a bit, but question the thinking behind adding VR to actual driving. Is this for the serious Pokémon hunter? And, I’m betting that within minutes of being in the public’s hands, people will be figuring out how to display their red/blue allegiance in the most in-your-face way. I’m kind of interested in the details of how the outer panels work and how granular the detail could be. I mean, everybody having their own potential art car could make traffic way more interesting.

That Ford 021C has a great shape: we need more of those!

OnlyFlans
OnlyFlans
1 year ago

This is a perfect getaway car for bank robbers and child abductors alike. “Hey everyone! Be on the lookout for a car that is definitely one or many of some colors and has a ‘phygital’ face that will change depending on the mood of the perpetrator”.

Doug Kingham
Doug Kingham
1 year ago

I’m happy to see a steering wheel present. And as you said, hopefully this is the design direction they are taking. Any departure from the angry beaver look of their latest cars would be welcome.

Old Busted Hotness
Old Busted Hotness
1 year ago
Reply to  Doug Kingham

Fearless prediction: Angry beaver look combined with VR bullshit.

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