BMW says the design and technology of its two-seat Vision ConnectedDrive concept roadster are aimed at making the vehicle an integral part of a networked world. It is, perhaps, the ultimate social networking machine.
With the long hood of a classic sports car and a competition-style windscreen, the Vision ConnectedDrive looks muscular. BMW, however, makes no mention of the vehicle’s powertrain; the high-performance equipment featured here is electronic. Some of that electronic equipment is, in BMW parlance, layered, meaning that components perform more than one task. In that spirit, the headlights and taillights are integrated with sensors that monitor traffic and, rather archly, “the environment.”
The cabin is subdivided into three distinct areas by fiber-optic lighting. A heads-up display is said to fuse the actual view of the road ahead with virtual content. The co-pilot — that would be the front-seat passenger — can review a stream of data that, if deemed worthy of the driver’s attention, can be forwarded to the instrument panel.
With the long hood of a classic sports car and a competition-style windscreen, the Vision ConnectedDrive looks muscular. BMW, however, makes no mention of the vehicle’s powertrain; the high-performance equipment featured here is electronic. Some of that electronic equipment is, in BMW parlance, layered, meaning that components perform more than one task. In that spirit, the headlights and taillights are integrated with sensors that monitor traffic and, rather archly, “the environment.”
The cabin is subdivided into three distinct areas by fiber-optic lighting. A heads-up display is said to fuse the actual view of the road ahead with virtual content. The co-pilot — that would be the front-seat passenger — can review a stream of data that, if deemed worthy of the driver’s attention, can be forwarded to the instrument panel.