How do you celebrate your 100th anniversary? By looking at the next hundred years, obviously.

That’s what BMW is doing. Their first Vision Next 100 showcase featured the BMW vision, followed by the Rolls-Royce vision and now, they have introduced the BMW MINI vision. The aim is to showcase the next century of motoring design.

Some might say it’s just a guess, but BMW don’t usually do things in half measures.

Working with environmental responsibilities as well as futuristic technology and mobility ideas, BMW sees the MINI brand as the front runner for urban cars and “small get-abouts”. Thus, the MINI version of the Vision Next 100 is an urban-centric design.

Let’s let Gizmag take over:

“MINI looks to offer smart and bespoke mobility in cities that engages all the senses,” explains Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President BMW Group Design. “And in the future, you might not actually have to own a vehicle to enjoy the benefits.”

This “digitally mine” idea is centered on the car’s unique exterior, which is a silver paint by default, but which changes according to specifications from the computer. Interior lighting also changes, tailoring itself to a user’s mood or style. Both the exterior and interior can be customized by the user upon summoning the car for a ride.

As with the BMW Vision 100 concept, the MINI Next 100 concept also has an artificially intelligent system centered on a dash-mounted knob, although it’s shaped as a circle rather than a gemstone. In the Mini it’s called the “Cooperatizer” and goes a step further by adding community-based connections which allows connected friends to share more than just the car, but also experiences.

As an example, BMW says if one friend happens to get tickets to an art exhibition that another friend likes, it can alert that friend and coordinate the carpool automatically. This could naturally be expanded to other things, such as grocery purchase suggestions or shared rides to common workplaces or school stops.

Here are the pics:

Really, cars are still going to have wheels? Sad face, although I wouldn’t say no to zooming around in one of these beauts.

If you want to join the ranks of the fabled MINI drivers then email editor@2oceansvibemedia.com, subject “MINI me Seth”, and we’ll hook up you up with a discount.

Yeah, that’s just how we roll.

[source: gizmag]