IMPRESSIVE BMW I VISION DEE CONCEPT REVEAL
The BMW i Vision DEE concept, unveiled at CES 2023, is BMW's most radical statement yet about what an electric car can be when the interior and exterior become programmable digital surfaces rather than fixed physical objects. DEE stands for Digital Emotional Experience, and the concept is BMW's clearest preview of the Neue Klasse design language that will define its next generation of electric vehicles.
32 Colors, One Body
The most immediately striking feature of the i Vision DEE is its E Ink exterior, a technology adapted from e-reader displays and applied across the entire body. Sixteen individual segments can each display one of 32 colors independently, allowing the car to change its appearance in seconds. The practical implications go beyond showmanship: a vehicle that can alter its color on demand eliminates the permanence of factory paint, lets the owner express different moods or contexts, and opens possibilities for discreet camouflage or high-visibility modes depending on driving environment. BMW has demonstrated the technology shifting through a full spectrum from white through pastels to deep black, with each zone controlled independently through software.
The Mixed Reality Windshield and Head-Up Display
Inside, BMW has replaced the traditional dashboard with a Mixed Reality Slider, a physical control that adjusts how much of the windshield is given over to augmented reality projection. At one extreme the windshield shows only the road ahead. At the other, it becomes a full-width augmented reality display projecting navigation, vehicle data, communications, and entertainment content across the entire glass surface. A welcome sequence greets the driver as they approach, combining light, sound, and the exterior's E Ink panels in a choreographed animation. This positions the i Vision DEE less as a car and more as a companion technology, a concept BMW articulated explicitly by naming the system DEE and giving it a conversational character during the concept's presentation.
Neue Klasse Design Language
In terms of form, the i Vision DEE is deliberately minimal. BMW's design team reduced the shape to its most essential elements: the Hofmeister kink that has defined BMW's C-pillar since the 1960s, a classical three-box sedan silhouette, and kidney grilles that have been reinterpreted as active air management surfaces rather than simple decorative elements. The restraint is intentional: by removing visual noise from the exterior, the E Ink surface becomes the canvas, and the technology speaks more clearly. BMW confirmed the concept previews the Neue Klasse production platform, which will underpin the next generation of BMW electric vehicles from 2025 onward. Detailed reporting from Car and Driver's BMW section and Top Gear covers the technical depth of the Neue Klasse programme.
The i Vision DEE is a concept, but the technology it showcases has direct parallels in production vehicles available today. The Robocar autonomous electric race car demonstrates how software-defined control systems are transforming vehicle architecture, while the Renault AIR4 concept art car shows how heritage brands are reimagining their identities through design-forward electric concepts. For a road-legal electric sports car, the Apex AP-0 represents the current benchmark in driver-focused EV design. Explore the full TheArsenale car collection for the most compelling electric and concept vehicles available to own.
Photo: BMW
