BMW Envisions Its Future With Mini and Roll-Royce Vision Next 100 concepts

The German car giant continues to celebrate its 100 year anniversary by showcasing two more concepts. Just like the BMW Vision Next 100 showcased a few weeks ago BMW has now showcased the Mini Vision Next 100 and the Roll-Royce Vision Next 100. Both the cars offer a glimpse of the future that BMW cars hold to offer. Also, all of these concepts also depict the future of BMW’s autonomous cars.

The Mini Vision Next 100

The classic Mini has been turned into a glass house of tricks and technology. The front seems to lose the retro Mini face, however, a hexagonal glass snout tries to mimic the current car’s legendary layout. The side and the rear are where it carries more semblance to the current car and also the floating roof, which can display the classic race strips at its or the occupants’ discretion. Likewise, the exterior bodywork is integrated to an electronic screen mechanism, which displays all sorts of shapes and colours.

The Interiors of this futuristic Mini carry the essence of the current generation of the car. They too appear to be wide and open, just like the classic Minis. The dashboard is a rail-like element which allows the steering wheel and the pedals to slide to any side of the dashboard. So, this concept is no longer bound by the country you drive in or the very concept of ‘driver’s side’, as the steering would just slide towards the way you are entering. It also carries the retro dial at the centre of the dash, which changes all sorts of colours.

The Rolls-Royce Vision Next 100 (103EX)

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It won’t be justified if I call this concept a mere car; the better word would be a yacht, yes, a freaking yacht! This concept, in my opinion, takes the Rolls Royce design imagination back to the classic era, where it had the massive, bulbous fenders that distinguished the long snout. However, the beauty with the Vision Next 100 is the sleek front wheel enclosures, held together by the signature grille. It is obvious that the vehicle is electric, which helps it liberate space for the luggage compartment in the side of the hood. There is only one door for entry which bifurcates into a suicide door and a gullwing door to offer easy ingress and egress. A very majestic view -- if you care to search its video on YouTube, search by “The Visionary Rolls-Royce 103EX.”

On the inside, the massive tub-like cabin is laced with a thick a carpet and high-quality silk, not to forget the exposed wood panels. It also gets a wide landscape-like screen that could probably tell the future, at least that’s what it seems from the way it looks.

Since all of these future vehicles are autonomous, BMW has explained in its press release how its future cars will still justify its motto of ‘Sheer Driving Pleasure.’ It explained, “In recent months and years, the greatest current trend in the automotive industry has become so widespread that it’s no longer a question of “if” but “when” with autonomous driving. The BMW Group also believes that BMW drivers will be able to let their cars do the work – but only when the driver wants. The BMW VISION NEXT 100 remains a genuine BMW, offering an intense experience of Sheer Driving Pleasure”.