Even though the color-shifting i Vision Dee and Vision Neue Klasse concepts were sedans, the first electric vehicle on BMW’s Neue Klasse platform to hit the market will be a crossover. Essentially, it will take the shape of a successor to today’s CLAR-based iX3. You might remember that a teaser was released in September in the form of a camouflaged prototype (pictured below) before a test vehicle was caught out on the streets earlier this week.
Today, a new speculative rendering tries to merge design cues of the Vision Neue Klasse with details noticed on the disguised prototype. Talented artist Avarvarii has penned his vision (pun intended) of the all-new iX3, some two years before production starts at BMW’s new plant in Debrecen, Hungary. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but this beholder hopes the real thing will look as good as this. An attractive SUV would consequently mean an appealing i3 Sedan, and if rumors are to be believed, there will also be an i3 Touring.
While some of today’s BMWs have overly tall grilles, the future EVs on the NK platform will drastically slim down the kidneys while merging them with the headlights. A dedicated electric car architecture typically brings shorter overhangs thanks to better packaging, allowing engineers to maximize the wheelbase for greater interior room. EVs that share their underpinnings with conventionally powered vehicles are compromised from day one but that won’t be the case with Bavaria’s hotly anticipated next wave of zero-emission cars.
The conventionally shaped iX3 is believed to spawn an iX4 as the only flavor of the next-generation X4 since BMW is unlikely to do another crossover-coupe mashup with gasoline and diesel engines. Both are expected to receive the full-fat M treatment later in the life cycle, so this design – provided it’s partially accurate at the very least – should become even more appealing in M guise.
The Dee and Neue Klasse concepts have sparked controversy among BMW fans regarding the company’s next design direction, following some questionable decisions like the adoption of split headlights. Albeit unofficial, this rendering gives us hope the future doesn’t seem so bleak after all.
Source: Avarvarii / Instagram
