BMW Celebrates 100 Year Centenary With Vision Next 100 Concept

By Henny Hemmes
Senior European Editor
The Auto Channel

MUNICH, March 8, 2016 Yesterday, BMW kicked-off its celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the company with the presentation of an exceptional concept car, the BMW Vision Next 100. It was introduced on a wide screen at a press conference in the new ‘residence’ of BMW Group Classic in Munich, where the company was founded, followed by a live presentation during a special show in the Olympia Hall, close the BMW’s headquarters.

Ease and Boost Mode

The car has been developed under supervision of Adrian van Hooydonk, BMW’s Head of Design with two things in mind: BMW’s motto ‘Driving Pleasure’, as well as autonomous driving. According to Van Hooydonk, the concept car shows how BMW intends to shape its future. “Our DNA lies in the development of sporty four-seaters and this is translated in this concept car.” The interior is very spacious with two front seats, that can swivel around when the car is in 'Ease mMode’ for autonomous driving. Because BMW goal is to build cars that are fun to drive, the future cars will feature a 'Boost Mode' to offer a dynamic driving experience. The choice will be up to the driver.

Flexible

For the Vision Next 100, the development team has used 4D printing, new manufacturing processes, new materials and new high-tech connectivity and safety systems for autonomous driving. The sleek design with the covered wheels results in the lowest drag coefficient in the industry of 0.18. The wheels can be turned thanks to the ‘elastic’ material of the wheel covers, that adapts to steering movements, while the body can ‘stretch’ during driving. This feature is called ‘Alive Geometry’.

This concept car also has an head-up display covering the full winds screen and it has aa frame of more than 800 moving triangular, organic LEDs.

The dream for the future is equipped with a lot of features that we at some point will see again in BMW’s in the not too distant future.

Roots

Not many people will have known that the foundation of BMW AG was laid in 1916 as a producer of aircraft engines. To be exact, on March 7 the company started as Bayerische Flugzeugwerke AG. It was in the middle of the First World War and there was an excellent ‘business case’ for such engines. This heritage is visible by the blue and white propeller in BMW roundel.

In 1922, the Treaty of Versailles that ended the war, prohibited aviation industry in Germany and the company started to build motorcycles as Bayerische Motoren Werke AG in 1923. The first motorcycle was on display at the Geneva Motor show last week.

Picking itself up again

In 1928, following the acquisition of Fahrzeugfabrik Eisenach (FE), BMW began producing cars. The first model was the BMW Dixi, the brand name of FE. It was an Austin 7 that was built under license, which expired in 1932. a year later was the first genuine BMW model, the 303 Coupé is a fact.

Meanwhile, Germany had initiated its armament policy and BMW once again started building aircraft engines. After WW2, the end of BMW seemed near, but again the company recovered by producing motorcycles and offering maintenance for American military vehicles.

The first new car model, the 501 sedan, came seven years after the war, followed by the Isetta a small three-wheeler with a front-opening door, of which still 166 thousand units were sold. Meanwhile, the company needed to shake off its wartime past and after a number of erroneous strategic decisions, the end was in sight again and a takeover by Daimler-Benz was looming. This danger was averted when in 1961 an initiative of industrial investors led by Herbert Quandt resulted in the financial turnaround. This resulted in the first new model of the so-called Neue Klasse (BMW 1500, 1600, 1800 and 2000), which established BMW's name as a manufacturer of sporty sedans. The Quandt family is still a major shareholder.

The start of the Centenary was witnessed via live stream as from 3.00 p.m. European time by all 116 thousand employees of BMW offices and the 30 plants world wide. For the show in the Olympia Hall in Munich, BMW had invited more than two thousand guests.

The celebrations will be continued during a world tour, that stops in Beijing on May 5, in London on June 16 and in Los Angeles on October 10.

BMW AG promises to unveil Mini and Rolls Royce concept cars that will provide a look into the future.