As the world’s largest tech trade fair, the CES in Las Vegas offers a much-noticed stage for innovations from a wide range of industries every year, a potpourri of sometimes bizarre, sometimes ingenious high-tech innovations. From AI glasses and mixed reality headsets, which were particularly present this year, to robots wiggling around and a multitude of pioneering technologies from gaming, entertainment and mobility. In this hugely significant year for BMW (the eagerly awaited presentation of the first production model of the Neue Klasse will take place at the end of 2025), there could not be a more harmonious environment for innovation to present the new Panoramic iDrive, a system that will set no less than new standards in vehicle operation.
It’s getting serious: after the BMW Vision Neue Klasse and the BMW Vision Neue Klasse X have provided the first glimpses of the upcoming and largest design and technology transformation in the history of the brand over the past two years, the first production model of the Neue Klasse will now follow at the end of this year. The reduced design language and the striking design leap in the exterior and interior are intended to form the framework for a completely new digital user experience and »BMW driving on the next level«. At the world premiere of the BMW Panoramic iDrive—an innovative display and operating system that will be an integral part of all future BMW models—at the CES in Las Vegas, Chapter was able to see what one aspect of this transformation looks like in concrete terms.
BMW Vision Neue Klase X: A preview of the Neue Klasse launching end of 2025
»Hands on the Wheel, Eyes on the Road«—this BMW motto is more central than ever to the new technology package. And even if this brand slogan may sound like a truism at first, it is based on a well thought-out design philosophy that characterizes the entire BMW interface design. This has now been taken to a new level with the BMW Panoramic iDrive: From the newly developed BMW Panoramic Vision head-up display concept to the optional 3D head-up display, which projects navigation data into the depths of the windshield, to the multifunctional steering wheel. BMW’s development and design team presented this new form of intuitive, comfortable and ergonomically optimized operation with obvious pride. »Technology and customer preferences are changing faster than ever before. The design of digital experiences and sound is playing an increasingly important role«, explained Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design. »The new BMW Panoramic iDrive not only makes our cars smarter and easier to use, it also allows for much more personalization, making every new BMW your very own.«
An oversized mock-up of the Neue Klasse Interior as the centerpiece of the presentation in Las Vegas.
Four central elements of the new iDrive technology package are intended to enable the promised unique user experience through seamless interaction:
BMW Panoramic Vision is a new head-up display concept developed by BMW for projecting content and reflecting visible information from A-pillar to A-pillar on an area of the lower windshield with a black background. This information is intended to be visible to all occupants in all lighting conditions.
Into the future: BMW Panoramic Vision
For the first time, the new optional BMW 3D Head-Up Display above the BMW Panoramic Vision also provides displays for navigation and automated driving in the driver’s immediate field of vision. According to BMW, the presentation of content in the BMW Panoramic Vision and BMW 3D Head-Up Display should be perfectly coordinated.
Touch and swipe: content from the central display can be transferred to the BMW Panoramic Vision .
On the central display with matrix backlight technology, which is ergonomically ideally positioned next to the steering wheel, the enhanced menu structure with QuickSelect ensures optimum operation of functions and content by touch. The selected content or widgets can be transferred to the BMW Panoramic Vision via the central display using a swiping motion.
The central display in free-cut design
The new multifunction steering wheel is based on the BMW Shy-Tech concept, in which functions are highlighted by illumination when available and whose buttons provide active haptic feedback. A finely tuned, relief-like surface of those buttons is also intended to ensure the best possible orientation.
Adrian van Hooydonk at the presentation at CES 2025.
Emotional individuality
With the so-called BMW Operating System X, a further development of the current operating system and the future heart of the digital range of functions, the individualization options are also being expanded: Not only can the displays in the BMW Panoramic Vision be individualized, but driving characteristics such as response and steering behavior can also be controlled individually. The upload of personal motifs as a background for the central display or the color selection of the ambient lights and the entire display network according to one’s own preferences are also intended to create an even more personal driving experience.
With the new concept, BMW wants to set a new benchmark for driver orientation.
And finally, the holistic experience of the BMW Panoramic iDrive will also be complemented by a new sound experience: HypersonX, a development of the BMW Group Sound Design Studio, will be used in all Neue Klasse models and will include 43 sound cues as well as special driving sounds. The multidimensional sound spectrum is intended to adapt the sounds precisely to the respective driving situation and enable an emotional interaction between driver and vehicle.
This brings a particularly important keyword into focus: ultimately, the broad spectrum of innovations—the symbiosis of high-tech and design, intuitive operation and personalization—is not just aimed at creating an optimized user experience at the cutting edge of technology. It is also about creating the most emotional connection possible between driver and vehicle. A harmonious dialog between innovative technology and people with the aim of making BMW’s »Freude am Fahren« an even more comfortable, aesthetically pleasing and personal experience. [CS]
