At CES 2023, BMW dropped an incredibly interesting concept—the BMW i Vision Dee. For weeks, BMW had been teasing the mysterious i Vision Dee and now we know that it’s both hardware and software and that this car packs the pair of them. After finally finding out what (who?) Dee was, it was time to get up close and personal with it.
The first thing you notice about BMW i Vision Dee is its design. Its front end looks very much like the i Vision Circular Concept from awhile back. However, its body shape is entirely different. The Circular was frumpy and bulbous, like a shrunken crossover, but Dee is far more sedan-like. In fact, I get quite a bit of E12 5 Series from its design, which is a very good thing. It also has incredibly fun spinny, yellow wheels.
Another thing you notice is the BMW heritage packed into its design. The kidney grilles are big but they’re wide, rather than tall, which look more in keeping with BMW’s historic design language than other previous Bimmer grilles. It also has a surprisingly traditional looking Hofmesiter Kink, upright windows and pillars, and a funky square take on BMW’s classic dual-halo headlights. It looks more like a properly classic BMW than almost anything currently on sale. I’ve said it already but I hope it becomes the next 3 Series.
BMW also made big headlines with its second generation of E Ink technology, which has 240 different panels that are capable of changing up to 32 different colors. So you can highly customize the look of the car. You can add stripes, create messages, make mosaics, or even make each panel a different color. The possibilities are nearly endless and it’s pretty shocking to see in person. Will that tech ever make it to production? Maybe on some low-volume special edition cars but likely not on anything mass production. So don’t expect a 3 Series with color-changing panels anytime soon.
The BMW i Vision Dee concept was one of the most fascinating concepts of CES 2023 and it was cool to see it in person. So check out our photos.
