BMW Vision 100

BMW's vision for the future in the hangar outside Munich

BMW Vision Next 100 Munich

In 2016, I had the opportunity to travel to Munich for an assignment that felt as much like the future as the present. BMW was celebrating its 100th anniversary and, at the same time, presented its vision for the next hundred years: the BMW concept car.

I was there to photograph the car for Auto Motor & Sports together with Joakim Dyredand. Even beforehand, it was clear that this would not be a traditional photoshoot.

That's why the concept of the future still feels modern

The BMW Vision Next 100 became a reality

The photoshoot took place in a hangar outside Munich. The environment was stripped back and almost completely silent. Every sound bounced off the walls. No distractions. Just the car, the light, and the surface it stood on.

It was a place that suited the car perfectly.

The BMW Vision 100 is not created to be understood in everyday life. It is an idea. A manifesto. In the hangar, it had the space to be precisely that.

Alive Geometry

When the car comes alive

What immediately distinguishes the Vision 100 from everything else is the body. It consists of thousands of small triangular panels in a system BMW called Alive Geometry. The panels can move and change shape depending on how the car is being used.

Instead of traditional surfaces, the car almost becomes alive.

The bodywork reacts, the shape is adjusted and the aerodynamics change in real-time. It's not just about design, but about a whole new way of thinking about cars.

Boost mode and Ease mode

Two worlds in the same car

The BMW Vision Next 100 built its entire concept around two different modes.

In Boost Mode, the driver takes control. The steering wheel is there, and information is projected exactly where it's needed. Everything is optimised for driving.

In Ease Mode, the car drives itself. The steering wheel retracts and the cabin opens up. Suddenly, the car feels more like a room than a cockpit.

There is a clear balance between what BMW has always stood for and the future that is beginning to take shape. The joy of driving is still there, but the car can also take over when the situation requires it.

Photographing something that almost feels virtual

Photographing the Vision 100 was a special experience. Not just because the car is unique, but because it behaves differently in photos.

The surfaces are soft yet graphic. The light moves over the car in a way that almost makes it change between exposures.

BMW Vision Next 100 in the minimalist hangar

The analogue met the digital. The physical met something that almost felt virtual.

How BMW's vision influenced the future

The Vision Next 100 was never intended to be a production car. It was built to show direction.

Several of the ideas behind Vision Next 100 feel less futuristic today than they did in 2016. Over the years, I have also tested and photographed models that BMW i7 xDrive60, BMW i5 eDrive40 Touring and BMW M5 Touring, cars where digitalisation, electrification and advanced driver-assistance systems have become a natural part of the experience. At the same time, BMW's classic focus on driving pleasure still remains in models such as BMW M2 and BMW Z4 M40i and BMW i8 Roadster.

However, many of the ideas still live on in today's cars:

• Head-up display that covers larger parts of the field of vision
• Driver assistance approaching autonomous driving
• Focus on driver-car interaction
• Digital interfaces instead of physical buttons

The BMW Vision 100 concept car is not a car you can buy.

But it's a car that has already affected those you can.

BMW Vision Next 100 – A Memory of the Future

There's something special about photographing the BMW Vision Next 100, a car that doesn't really belong in its own time.

In the hangar outside Munich, the BMW Vision 100 stood as a vision of something that doesn't quite exist yet. At the same time, the future had already begun to take shape.

And right there, in the quiet room, the future behind the BMW Vision Next 100 became very concrete for a moment.