Model "Dee" presented at CES: BMW turns the windshield into a monitor

How fast, how much is left in the tank, is the engine overheating? The dashboard is traditionally the most meaningful display panel in cars.

Model "Dee" presented at CES: BMW turns the windshield into a monitor

How fast, how much is left in the tank, is the engine overheating? The dashboard is traditionally the most meaningful display panel in cars. In this respect, BMW wants to shine in the future and instead display everything on the windscreen.

BMW wants to turn the entire windshield of cars into a widescreen display. At the US electronics trade fair CES in Las Vegas, the carmaker presented the futuristic sedan "BMW i Vision Dee" with a bare dashboard. The speedometer, navigation system and all other information are shown on the windscreen via a head-up display. "An anticipation of the next generation of vehicles. From 2025, this innovation will be available in the models of the new class," announced BMW.

The vision vehicle appears spartan on the inside: there are no door handles, dashboard, temperature controls, switches, buttons - and no display either. The central control element is a sensor system on the surface where the dashboard is in today's cars. The driver decides what information he wants to see on the windscreen by speaking or waving his hand.

When the car is stationary, he can hide reality with the help of dimmable windows and immerse himself completely in virtual worlds. "With the BMW i Vision Dee, we are showing what is possible when hardware and software merge," said CEO Oliver Zipse. The vision vehicle exploits the potential of digitalization and underlines its outstanding importance for the coming generations of cars.

BMW design chief Adrian van Hooydonk said the vehicle itself would become a portal to the digital world. However, the driver always retains full control. Not only controls and displays, but also material and design were deliberately reduced so that "nothing distracts from the digital experience".

"As early as 2025, the series derivative of the head-up display will be used across the entire width of the windshield in the models of the new class," said BMW.

The "new class" is based on a new architecture developed for battery cars. It is intended to make them as profitable as the combustion engines are today and to be introduced across the group from 2025.