The BMW Vision Neue Klasse Features A Subtle Nod To A Brand Legend

BMW’s Vision Neue Klasse concepts are intended to preview the Munich brand’s next generation of electric cars, but they’re packed with references to Beemers of old. The name, for instance (which translates to ‘New Class’), harks back to a series of saloons and coupes produced under the same umbrella name between 1962 and 1972; cars that helped pull BMW back from the brink of financial collapse and establish its modern identity.

The recently unveiled Vision Neue Klasse X, which previews the next-generation iX3, features a pair of tall, slender kidney grilles in direct reference to the 2002. Meanwhile, last year’s Vision Neue Klasse saloon, which previews a mid-size electric saloon set for production in 2025, has a shape that clearly harks back to BMWs of the 1980s and ’90s, from its angular three-box silhouette to its pronounced sharknose front end. The similarities run a little deeper than that, though.

At the Neue Klasse X’s reveal event, Motor1 spoke to Kai Langer, design boss for BMW’s electric i division and designer of the two concepts. He explained that he wanted the Neue Klasse saloon to contain a reference to the second-generation E30 3-series, a car he once owned and cherished.

As a result, the two cars’ beltlines – the part at which the bottom of the side windows meets the bodywork – are at exactly the same height off the ground. This was likely no small feat to pull off from a design point of view: the E30 launched in 1982, and it’s no secret that cars have been getting bigger and bigger since then, so to keep this visual reference point identical between the two can’t have been easy.

We’re a little way off seeing the production version of the Neue Klasse saloon, and when it does appear, it’ll almost certainly be a little toned down from the concept, as is always the way. Nonetheless, it’ll be fascinating to see if this homage to the widely loved E30 makes the jump to production.