At the Auto Shanghai 2025, BMW presented the BMW Vision Driving Experience high-performance test vehicle, a driving experience of the highest order.
Inside, the lightning-fast Heart of Joy control computer, which works in conjunction with the BMW Dynamic Performance Control software stack to centrally calculate all driving dynamics functions, is visible in the centre console of the BMW Vision Driving Experience in Shanghai – unlike later in series production.
The BMW Vision Driving Experience has been specially designed to challenge the Heart of Joy at the limits of driving physics.
Test drivers Jens Klingmann and Elias Houndtonji, the main attraction of the BMW Brand Night, demonstrated the extraordinary potential of the car with spectacular driving manoeuvres. BMW presented the show’s vision vehicle in a special luminescent paint.
“This evening in Shanghai, BMW Group presented the most powerful prototype BMW has ever built. With up to 18,000 Nm of torque, the BMW Vision Driving Experience demonstrated Joy of Driving in its ultimate form. Equipped with our new super brain “Heart of Joy”, the VDX is converting the ultimate electric power into controlled driving pleasure – no wonder we’ve experienced overwhelming feedback from the audience” said Jochen Goller, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Customers, Brands and Sales.
The first all-electric Neue Klasse vehicles will roll off the production line at the Debrecen plant in Hungary from the end of the year. The Heart of Joy central computer, which ensures a new level of precision and driving dynamics, will be fitted as standard in every Neue Klasse vehicle.
The ultimate endurance test for the next generation of drive and driving dynamics control
With the visionary BMW Vision Driving Experience test vehicle, BMW is pushing the boundaries of familiar driving dynamics. With a torque of up to 18,000 Newton metres, the “fastest test rig in the world” is the ultimate endurance test for the Heart of Joy and BMW Dynamic Performance Control developed entirely by BMW.
Thanks to active aerodynamics, the “driving machine” develops a downforce up to of 1.2 tonnes and lateral forces of up to 3g – a dimension on a par with Formula 1 and far beyond the requirements of conventional vehicles in road traffic. The logic behind this: If the hardware and software can tame the brute forces of this test rig, they can easily cope with the demands of everyday use.
In the new functional architecture of the Neue Klasse, the Heart of Joy is the central computer responsible for driving, braking, recharging through recuperation and some steering functions. With fast information processing and direct control of the electric motors, the Heart of Joy not only achieves a new level of agility and driving stability with fewer system interventions, but also enables 98 per cent of braking operations to be carried out using brake energy regeneration. This represents a 25% increase in efficiency compared to today’s architectures. The vehicle can also be brought to a standstill more smoothly than ever before.
Innovative, fluorescent paint for the show in Shanghai
Although the BMW Vision Driving Experience was designed for development purposes only and is not intended for series production, its exterior is based on the design language of the BMW Vision Neue Klasse.
The monolithic-looking body, powerful wheel arches, recessed greenhouse and “shark nose” front end are all part of the purist aesthetic that will also characterise the Neue Klasse. A new interpretation of the characteristic BMW radiator grille and twin headlights creates a striking, three-dimensional light signature at the front.
For the presentation in Shanghai, the BMW Vision Driving Experience, which had previously been covered in camouflage film and shown at a preview in the USA, was given an innovative, self-illuminating paint finish. The paint’s special light-sensitive pigments recharge in daylight, with even the smallest amount of ambient light sufficient. In the dark, the colour varies from a whitish yellow to an expressive neon yellow, depending on the state of charge. In addition, the rear of the car has been fitted with a “magic film” which, when stimulated by UV light, creates an expressive gradient from yellow to orange to pink from the rear to the front of the car. These special looks underline the uniqueness and innovative power of the car.
