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Go big or go home. Car manufacturers are making big promises to customers for the future. Will they be able to deliver or go home red-faced?

Let’s explore a few car concepts currently on the drawing board.

Rolls-Royce

Subsequent to their 100th birthday, BMW announced an avant-garde concept – Vision Next 100. Their subsidiaries, Rolls-Royce and Mini are going for their own slice of the future.

The Rolls-Royce model 103EX, a regal coupe, is just shy of 20 feet in length, and a composite of old and Über-modern. Their big promise – this model represents the pinnacle of luxury, “personal experience, effortless travel, a relaxing sanctuary and a grand arrival”.

Prominent features include: no steering wheel, car is self-driving, in-car personal assistant ‘Eleanor’ can bring car to you. She studies your likes and dislikes and recommends restaurants, hotels, etc., interior décor luxurious, large OLED display screen. Upon arrival at your destination, the coupe glows “from the grille to the wheels”. Then the glass canopy roof lifts, permitting occupants to stand upright prior to the door’s opening.

Totally autonomous, this model expresses Rolls-Royce’s aspirations for the upcoming 100 years. For now, such a grand concept lives only in the imagination of geeks and engineers.

MINI

Likewise, the MINI unveiled its Vision Next 100 concept, with a peek of the model it plans to launch in 2116. Their motto – “Every MINI is my MINI” – is slated to manifest as a “shared mobility – sustainable, emotional and inspiration”. The idea is for a number of people to share one car instead of each individual owning a car.

Knowing that everyone has their preferences, the future MINI will have the capability to change from standard silver to the driver’s favorite design and color. The “Cooperizer”, acts as the intelligence center, it gets to know each co-user and selects applicable personality traits. An “Inspire Me” button looks for fun spots on lesser traveled roads and sets-up your favorite music.

BMW, the parent company, plans to emphasize “environmental responsibility”. Therefore, the eco-friendly MINI will contain recycled aluminum and plastic in its side-panels, roof lining and floor.

There will also be an option to manually drive the car or choose autonomy.

What a deal – you really can have it your way with “My MINI”.

BMW

BMW Vision Next 100 Concept makes big promises about a smart BMW, which connects to your computer, entertainment systems and phone. We already have smart phones, smart appliances and smart homes, where all your electronics ‘talk’ to each other. So, it’s not too much of a stretch of the imagination to include smart cars.

The BMW model is an autonomous, copper-colored coupe, with two driving modes – Boost and Ease. In Boost mode, the person drives, yet the vehicle itself works behind the scenes to provide an enhanced driving experience. Onboard Alive Geometry watches traffic and projects optimal drive lines.

The Ease mode draws the steering wheel inward and arranges the seats into conversation pits. A wise “Companion” observes preferences of the driver, in order to accomplish daily duties. It emits a green glow to alert pedestrians when it is safe to cross the street in front of stopped cars.

Our Verdict

We expect these 100-year concepts will create a bevy of banter around the dinner table. How long BMW can sustain our interest in futuristic cars we will never see remains to be seen.