As Cars Become Smart Phones on Wheels, Where Does That Leave Us Enthusiasts?

In the late 1950s, facing financial ruin, BMW was on the verge of being bought out by another German carmaker – one with a three-pointed star in its logo. That’s when Herbert Quandt stepped in, acquired a majority stake and provided the capital to develop the Neue Klasse – a range of all-new models that would go on to rescue the Bavarian automaker. In retrospect, it wasn’t a bad investment. Today, the Quandt family is amongst the richest in the world – and BMW is amongst the most successful automakers ever.

The Neue Klasse range essentially democratised driving pleasure and went on to form the foundation of what BMW stood for as a brand – the Ultimate Driving Machine!

Today, the Neue Klasse has been resurrected in its modern avatar with the launch of the brand-new iX3. This is the first of a whole new collection of electric BMWs based on an 800-volt EV architecture that promises 800-kilometres of range and 370-kilometres of charge with just 10 minutes on a 400-kW charger. But it also promises driving dynamics "enhanced by digital capabilities" that claim to take Sheer Driving Pleasure to a whole new level.

It has four central computers – genuine super-brains according to BMW – that process data up to 20 times faster than before, one of which is dedicated to the drivetrain and driving dynamics.

In fact, the next generation of the 3 Series – a sedan that has come to epitomise Sheer Driving Pleasure over the generations – will have combustion engines on a different platform and an electric range on this new EV platform, ensuring no compromises on the underpinnings, no matter which propulsion system you choose. And both EV and ICE cars will be styled the same, so that they still retain their 3 Series identity.

The even bigger news is that the next-generation M3 will have both a combustion-engine and a pure EV variant. The good news is that the petrol engine remains, and it may even get a special edition that retains the manual gearbox.

Still, if you talk to Dr. Mike Reichelt, Head of Neue Klasse development, he’ll tell you that from a pure objective performance standpoint, the electronics are so advanced in this new generation of EVs that there’s simply no way for the ICE cars to keep up. Their response time is simply too slow! Throw a manual gearbox into the mix, and it’ll be like comparing the Flintmobile (the Flintstones’ car) to the Starship Enterprise.

So, if it’s pure performance you want, or lap time you’re after, it seems like there’ll be no contest in future. But all is not lost. After all, microchips powered by AI can perform calculations in fractions of a second. But they can’t mimic the howl of a petrol engine as it gulps air to create forward propulsion, or the visceral feel of the rev counter at redline, or the sensation of using three pedals and all your faculties to approach maximum performance. For that, you need both neurons and spark plugs firing in unison, not microchips in isolation. Sure, you won’t be as fast, and it’ll cost you more to be slower in future – the mother of all contradictions – but the combustion-powered automobile will continue to get under your skin and find a place in your heart.

So, to commute every day, take advantage of the efficiency and refinement of an EV, and maybe even the sheer power – computing and otherwise – to set a lap time. But when you want to feel at one with the machine, it’s still going to have to be powered by dinosaur juice. And, if I can help it, it’ll also always be fitted with a manual gearbox…