BMW's Adorable i Vision Dee Will Morph Into Next 3 Series

BMW showed up to CES with an adorable concept vehicle called the i Vision Dee, which previews the first model built on the company's highly-anticipated Neue Klasse (New Class) platform.

CarBuzz had an opportunity to sit down with someone close to BMW's product plans, who told us we would see "a more production-ready version" later this year. The i Vision Dee will morph into the next-generation BMW 3 Series Sedan, a transformation that has been eluded to in previous conversations about Neue Klasse and again recently when the automaker promised to keep sedans alive.

Since BMW no longer attends US auto shows, the most likely venue for this reveal is the IAA Mobility Munich in September. We imagine the next time we see the i Vision Dee, it will drop the futuristic color-changing paint, but it could keep the horizontal grille shape, as BMW has indicated it would make unique grille designs for each model.

Though it may not be able to change colors, the Neue Klasse will have some ground-breaking technology.

The concept already previewed a full-width head-up display that will debut on the production Neue Klasse, but our source told us about another feature that will be even more important. "Braking, steering, energy regeneration, anti-lock brakes, and more will all be handled by a single ECU (electronic control unit) called the 'Heart of Joy,'" he said. "It will enable a one-millisecond computing sequence, which is ten times faster than our current ECUs." A similar ECU for the quad-motor M EV has also been referred to as the "Hand of God."

Our source didn't specify where BMW will get this advanced ECU, but Qualcomm recently revealed a new chip with the ability to run safety and infotainment systems simultaneously, which sounds a lot like the "Heart of Joy." The Neue Klasse will sport "stronger acceleration and regeneration" along with faster response times than current BMW EVs.

The source familiar with the project even hinted at an 800-volt charging architecture.