CES 2023: BMW Unveils Prototype Seemingly Set to Rival Apple Car

[deaglecat]

my money is on Apple to never release an "Apple Car". It has been a text book example of unrealized ambition and failure to execute.

BMW doesn't really have to worry about an Apple car rival... cos they are the ones making actual cars.

 

[TracesOfArsenic]

How can this "rival" a car that doesn't exist? This is an extraordinarily tenuous stretch to make this "Apple related" and generate clicks. This belongs more on a Tesla site than MR.

 

[richinaus]

comparing a concept to something that doesn't exist.......

 

[Anonymous Freak]

Drop more than 100,000 on this car, whose appeal is just being encapsulated in more gadgets. What’s wrong with driving a good old BMW without any distractions.

This is a concept car. "Rivaling" a car that has yet to see any official acknowledgement that is a project at all.

If/when they release a car based on this, it will be very different.

See the BMW i3 concept vs. the production BMW i3:

BMW i3 Concept - BMW i3 Concept at 2011 Frankfurt Auto Show on RoadandTrack.com

The BMW i3 Concept looks to be a direct competitor to the Nissan Leaf. But the Leaf weighs 3415 lb., almost 700 lb. more than this BMW i3 Concept. Plus, the i3’s electric motor produces 170 hp—that’s 63 hp more than Nissan’s. It also powers the rear axle for better driving dynamics.

web.archive.org

2026 BMW i3: What We Know So Far

The “Neue Klasse” 2026 BMW i3 sedan is an all-new electric sibling to the archetypal 3-series sport sedan—and a different direction for the brand's EVs.

www.caranddriver.com

See the BMW "Vision EfficientDynamics Concept" vs. the production BMW i8:

Frankfurt Preview: BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept, turbodiesel plug-in hybrid [w/VIDEO] - Autoblog

BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics Concept - click above for high-res image gallery

www.autoblog.com

2020 BMW i8 Review, Pricing, and Specs

The 2020 BMW i8 boasts outside-the-box styling and a plug-in powertrain that saves fuel, but it lacks the performance of more exotic sports cars.

www.caranddriver.com

(The i8 was *FAR* closer to the concept than basically any modern "concept car turned production", but it was also an ultra-expensive limited-production halo car. And even it differed a lot inside and out.)

 

[sailmac]

Whacky, I know, but I looked at this and thought, "Too many of the wrong kind of port, and I wouldn't use those ports on the front."

[ ...brain is having difficulty transitioning from the TB4 hub/dock announcement threads...]

 

[Romain_H]

Is there a car company that makes a simple EV or Hybrid that doesn't have a highly distracting video-game dash board?

Alpha - if they ever become a reality. Which I would not bet on. Hm. Well, kinda, looks like an iPad there in the center console.

Alpha Motor — ACE Electric Coupe Performance Edition

www.alphamotorinc.com

 

[T Coma]

Any of these shapes would make a more ergonomic Magic Mouse than the silly one we have now.

 

[wanha]

Because everything that everyone launches is to rival whatever Apple has, or hasn't launched....

Hard to believe, but the world doesn't revolve around Apple.

Yes, but tech media does

 

[farmboy]

I love how so many people here think Apple is entitled to profits from any market they enter.

The cheerleading is insufferable.

Why wouldn’t they be?

 

[newyorksole]

BMW has been making cars for almost a century.

Somehow I doubt they design cars just to rival "Apple Car".

uhh companies made computers, MP3 players and watches well before Apple yet still came out with new devices to rival them… lol

Apple is a heavyweight even if they’re entering a new space. companies know they have the ability to disrupt.

 

[Mr. Dee]

I know I will never buy a car for 100,000. Thats just ridiculous. Considering its gonna be parked most of time on top of the expense of owning and maintaining it: insurance, charging it, DOL fees.

 

[svish]

Color changing feature of the car is very interesting.

 

[Vasilioskn]

Ugly car with an ugly name

 

[opeter]

Any of these shapes would make a more ergonomic Magic Mouse than the silly one we have now.

Correct. 👍 You've got a thumbs up!

 

[purplerainpurplerain]

Imagine tons of energy efficient vehicles moving people around cities and countrysides at great speed and low cost.

We could call it public transport.

 

[laptech]

I wonder if the author of the bloomberg article will make a similar article about AR/VR, you know, something like 'Meta releases improved AR/VR headset to rival Apple's AR/VR', a device we all know no one has seen, not even prototypes but yet like with the Apple car we have certainly heard much about it.

 

[timber]

uhh companies made computers, MP3 players and watches well before Apple yet still came out with new devices to rival them… lol

Apple is a heavyweight even if they’re entering a new space. companies know they have the ability to disrupt.

So BMW wouldn't be launching a new EV platform to underpin their lineup which is what they are really previewing doing the usual weird to less weird to normal concept car process?

I know I will never buy a car for 100,000. Thats just ridiculous. Considering its gonna be parked most of time on top of the expense of owning and maintaining it: insurance, charging it, DOL fees.

There are plenty of those being launched but here what we have is the electric 3 series which will be more affordable (not the same as affordable for everyone).
The concept already has some resemblance to a classic BMW 2002 or 1602 so they are getting there.
Not too fast, it is a 2025 model.

 

[opeter]

Alpha - if they ever become a reality. Which I would not bet on. Hm. Well, kinda, looks like an iPad there in the center console.

Alpha Motor — ACE Electric Coupe Performance Edition

www.alphamotorinc.com

The front reminds me of old VW Golf 2... Interesting.

 

[SilverWalker]

This vehicle is just beyond ugly. I don’t care how many useful features it has and there are some interior design elements I kind of like, but spending this kind of money I would not enjoy waking to that to drive like I would other cars in that price point.

Also I would be nervous about subscriptions for that and I understand someone willing to spend that much may not care so much about subscriptions but BMW has also been showing that they are not scared to further push this model for vehicles

It's striking how truly ugly it looks.
It looks like it wasn't designed by people that actually like cars.

BMW have a history of trying to build subscriptions into the billing of a vehicle.
It's the last thing I want on an already costly investment.

 

[SilverWalker]

I think car manufacturers should continue to spend R&D and produce electric cars, but also hybrid and efficient ICE vehicles.

A friend of mine is convinced that by 2030 90% of cars sold in the US will be EVs, but I find that pretty unbelievable given the cost, US electric grid issues, not being able to charge for some people, range issues, etc.

But, there are plenty of ICE and hybrid vehicles that have great range and pretty efficient, and some that cost fractions of an EV.

For example, my purchased new 2019 1.4T Jetta, it gets really great fuel economy for an ICE and even some hybrids, while @ over 40,000 miles, with fuel ($3,646.78), maintenance costs($214.65), and the initial purchase of it (car, taxes, fees, etc $16,951.06), the Jetta is still much cheaper ($20,812.49) than even the cheapest new EV in the US:

View attachment 2137448

Interesting comment.

You are right that it is unlikely. In truth, it is impossible for 90% by 2030. We can't make enough batteries, and we certainly can't provide the power needed to charge them. Our current rate of conversion from ICE to EV will have us taking another two hundred years (something daft like that, because while the first 10% can take advantage of existing infrastructure, the later cannot because it doesn't exist).

I have no doubt ICE will eventually decline, but we aren't there yet.

I think that here in Japan the government has decided by 2035 that we won't be able to buy new ICE vehicles anymore. We shall see how that goes.

 

[SilverWalker]

Can this be the BMW that's finally able to get the driver to use turn signals? 😉

It gives you a good face slapping when you forget to indicate😆
I remember my dad shouting 'indicate', 'indicate'! when I was a kid... only a decade later would I understand how lazy some drivers are.

 

[SilverWalker]

BMWs have progressively gotten more soft over the years, and this would complete their transition from The Ultimate Driving Machine to The Ultimate Washing Machine.

That really made me chuckle🤣
My granddad had a BMW in the 80s. It was one of the more expensive ones (he was a plastic surgeon, in the burns unit) but have no idea what model it was.
I was 5. But I do remember thinking how cool it was. Electric windows, a light that came on and a chime when the passenger didn't put their seatbelt on. Today all standard fair. But there was something else about it...
The character of their vehicles has been slowly lost over the years.

 

[Romain_H]

The front reminds me of old VW Golf 2... Interesting.

The Ace reminds me more on the Alfa Bertone. I like it: Small and (hopefully) nimble, traction where it‘s supposed to be (rear). Noone makes a car like this these days

 

[SilverWalker]

Is there a car company that makes a simple EV or Hybrid that doesn't have a highly distracting video-game dash board?

You know, I bet if we made a reasonable basic car that was an EV it would be highly successful.

 

[cmcbhi]

Wake me up when I can buy an electric vehicle that doesn't spy on me, doesn't have a business model of nickle-and-dimeming me for OTA addons or subscriptions, is FUN to drive myself, accepts that I have my data and music on my iPhone, doesn't have an iPad in the drivers lap, has real buttons, and looks good.

From any manufacturer.

Maybe a cabriolet?

How about this?

We visited ECD Automotive's new facility where it's building electric Jaguar E-Types with Tesla motors

After visiting ECD Automotive Design’s original footprint in Florida earlier this year, the custom EV conversion specialists invited us back...

electrek.co