BMW i Vision Future Interaction concept loses its doors but gains a raft of cutting-edge in-car technologies

It’s probably just to give you a better view of all the cool stuff inside

John Calne
Thursday 21 January 2016 13:36 GMT
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Remember the days when BMW’s Z1 roadster looked amazingly space-age? Well, here’s the i Vision Future Interaction.

Admittedly, about the only thing they’ve got in common is the no-doors look from sideways on. But whereas the Z1’s disappeared down into its bodywork, this new concept simply doesn’t have any.

That’s probably just to give you a better view of all the cool stuff inside.

The latest in a line of i8-based concepts, the i Vision Future Interaction showcases BMW’s latest advances on various fronts.

These include autonomous driving, supported by a next-gen head-up display and 3D digital dash delivering instant information about the car’s surroundings – including nearby and oncoming vehicles. This gives the driver more time to react when situations develop which may require an intervention, or indeed when the car’s being driven rather than piloting itself.


Tech features include video calling, gesture control and wi-fi access via BMW’s Open Mobility Cloud

 Tech features include video calling, gesture control and wi-fi access via BMW’s Open Mobility Cloud

On that subject, while it’s normal now to see cars with selectable drive modes you won’t have come across a selector quite like this concept’s. The available modes are Pure, for maximum enjoyment; Assist, for the quickest journey time; and Auto – in which mode the car takes over and drives itself.

While it’s doing so, you can enjoy the rest of its tech features – which include video calling, gesture control and wi-fi access via BMW’s Open Mobility Cloud, a kind of virtual butler that aims to make sense of your entire life on one single panoramic dashboard. Think of it as a Filofax (or ’smartphone’, as they’re called now) on four wheels.

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