Pushing boundaries with a new driving experience: Just before the world’s largest auto show opens in Shanghai, the BMW Group’s high-performance test vehicle – the BMW Vision Driving Experience – is taking to the massive stage, with impressive manoeuvres, luminous paintwork and the innovative Heart of Joy control unit on board. A glimpse of tomorrow’s driving dynamics.

Driving dynamics at the limits of physics: Two days before the world’s largest auto show opens in Shanghai, the BMW Group is set for a spectacle as the BMW Vision Driving Experience makes its debut with a new look at the Auto Shanghai 2025.

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.

The BMW Vision Driving Experience is a one-of-a-kind test car – but the Heart of Joy will feature in every Neue Klasse model.

The BMW Vision Driving Experience pushes the boundaries of driving dynamics and is probably the fastest test bench in the world: the driving machine delivers brute torque of up to 18,000 Newton metres. Its downforce is enhanced by the active aerodynamics delivering up to 1.2 tonnes and lateral forces of up to 3G – the kind of dimensions that are normally the preserve of Formula 1. In extreme conditions like this, all the systems have to work together perfectly. The logic? Any hard- and software that can handle this will easily handle everyday road traffic.

As the central computer of the Neue Klasse, the Heart of Joy will be responsible for propulsion, recuperation, braking, charging and steering subfunctions. And it’s all made possible by the kind of computing power that controls even the finest of interventions with absolute precision and near-instantaneously. The result is a smoother, more flowing driving experience even when slowing to standstill – which also saves energy and makes the car up to 25 percent more efficient.

The BMW Vision Driving Experience is breaking new ground in terms of visuals too: its special fluorescent paintwork incorporates light-sensitive pigments that charge during daylight and glow in the dark, from whitish to neon yellows. Further colour gradients come courtesy of the UV-active special-effect wrapping on the rear of the car, which ranges from yellow and orange to pink. An eye-catching feature that underscores the innovativeness of the car.

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. The first Neue Klasse models will roll off the production lines at Plant Debrecen (Hungary) this year – with the Heart of Joy on board, of course!