The BMW i Vision Dee concept has been revealed in Las Vegas, showcasing a load of new tech including a trippy colour-shifting exterior.
If, like most of the internet, you aren’t a fan of BMW’s recent styling trends, we’ve got some good news for you. In 2025, the Bavarian marque is set to embark on a new phase of models, and a new design philosophy to go with them. To preview this so-called ‘Neue Klasse’, BMW has unveiled the i Vision Dee concept – a prototype electric saloon about the same size as the current 3-Series.
The concept features what BMW describes as ‘deliberately pared down’ design to bring focus to the car’s technology and its core styling cues. The result is a shape reminiscent of the original Neue Klasse cars from the 1960s, as well as the later E30-generation 3 Series.
Interestingly, though, the switch to EV power seems to have ridden future BMWs of the massive vertical kidney grilles that wound everyone up so much over the past few years. Instead, this cornerstone of the BMW brand identity has been repurposed into the Vision Dee’s futuristic-yet-retro headlight design; a marked improvement, in our opinion.
Could ‘E Ink’ Be The Future Of Car Customisation?
As you’d expect from a revolutionary new flagship concept, the BMW i Vision Dee showcases loads of new tech. The bit that we’re most interested in, however, is BMW’s ‘E Ink’ technology.
The company first revealed this colour-shifting wizardry last year, but back then, it was still fairly primitive. What we saw in 2022 was a BMW iX that could trade its black exterior for a white one. Now though, things seem to have progressed further, as BMW claims that the E Ink tech used on the i Vision Dee can display 32 different colours (hence these super funky press shots!).
So, how does it actually work? Well, the BMW i Vision Dee’s body has been covered in 240 sheets of ‘ePaper’. Each of these can be individually controlled to display different colours, electronically. As such, you can not only change your car’s look on the fly, but also even programme animations into it.
So, if you thought wrapping was a clever way to change the look of your ride, the next decade may take exterior car customisation to a whole new level.
Of course, there’s plenty of caveats to throw at something like this. There’s no suggestion yet from BMW that this tech is something they’ll be putting on production cars anytime soon, but it’s good to at least know that the technology is there, and seems to be being developed quite seriously. Whatever comes from the BMW i Vision Dee and its magical colour-shifting powers, it’s certainly a story to keep an eye on…
