The BMW vision of tomorrow's car at the time
10/21/2020
In 1979, BMW attracted attention with an extraordinarily aerodynamically shaped study. Behind it was Klaus Luthe, then aged 46 and head of the styling center.
His comment on the BMW vision at the time in an interview with" auto motor und sport":
" Of course, not all details of this design can be realized in a production car, the pursuit of low air resistance must not lead to solutions that are alien to practice."
And BMW Head of Development and Board Member Karlheinz Radermacher doubled down:
" We are currently working very intensively on aerodynamics, and this has resulted in a whole series of designs whose sole objective was to achieve the most aerodynamic shape possible. The results cannot be directly transferred to a production model, but certain details and features will certainly be found on a future BMW. "
That was in 1979, at a time when the BMW M1 and the first three-cylinder E21 were being sold. But even their successors had little to do with the 79 study.
In fact, it has to be said that the Vision looks rather unusual today. Perhaps it is a good thing that the developments eventually went in a different direction ...
