Words NZ Autocar | Images Auto Express
Published 18 November 2024
The ‘Neue Klasse’ movement at BMW kicks off with a replacement for the outgoing iX3. And the design has gone public after a leak of patent images and release of spy shots of the car cold weather testing.
BMW’s Vision Neue Klasse X concept was unveiled in March 2024. The production version looks to have maintained these boldly-styled lines.
BMW will build at least six fully electric models using the Neue Klasse platform between 2025 and 2027. The iX3 SUV and electric 3 Series saloon are first up, both with the novel family Neue Klasse face. The spy shots indicate a connected upper grille and headlight section, with influence from its ‘Neue Klasse’ 2000 saloon that showed up first in the mid-1960s.
Proper wing mirrors replace the digital camera items of the concept car, along with regular flush-fitting door handles. The rear looks almost the same as that of the concept.
In profile it is similar to existing SUVs from BMW, with a raked screen for better aerodynamics. There’s a new take on the Hofmeister kink too, with an acute angle in the kick instead of a curve.
Exaggerated haunches add visual width. New iX3 has a roof spoiler at the back that wraps around the rear window. A pair of aero ridges extend back into the roofline from the spoiler.
The interior of the iX3 will feature the Vision Neue Klasse concept’s dash. There’s a wide panoramic screen (full-width projection) at the top of the dash and a larger touchscreen in the centre for most controls.
Powering the electric SUV is the company’s sixth-generation eDrive technology. Range and charging time should improve by around 30 per cent, and energy efficiency by almost as much. So expect 560km of range. Standard models will feature a single, rear-mounted electric motor, but some may have up to four motors.
Once the SUV and 3 Series electric saloon launch, BMW will release a Neue Klasse coupe, an estate, a larger SUV and, in all likelihood, high-performance M variants of these. These six new models will arrive within the next two years, with something for everyone, evidently.
The M division is apparently “well under way with development of a high-performance all-electric M car”. Expect this in 2027. They are kicking around a four-motor concept as well.
