Rounded but also a bit angular for a shape that, to us at least, becomes more convincing the more you see it. A dramatically short nose and huge raked-back windscreen merge into a rising roofline, creating a very thrusting dynamic. The surfaces like the smoothly flared wheel arches have a tautness about them, like they are made of material stretched tight over a frame.
In fact, the body is made of aluminium – second-use ally of course, recycled from waste. Paint being a no-no in a new sustainable world, the body is anodised with a light-gold finish, contrasting with a rear section made of recycled steel with a cloud-like, blueish finish.
The number of parts used and the variety of materials employed has been kept to a minimum, important when the car’s life is over and it needs to be disassembled. Much of it comes apart with the use of a single tool in a process that BMW has inexplicably dubbed joyful fusion.
The result is cool looking but not perhaps very BMW. Would you recognise it as a Bimmer? There are badges of course – engraved emblems rather than badges, the rear one behind the dark glass tailgate – and there’s the suggestion of a Hofmeister kink in the C-pillar.
There’s also the normal BMW identifier of the kidney grille up front, but forget now any thought of a shiny surround and chromed bars. This is the kidney grille reinterpreted as a digital surface. It extends across the entire width of the front end, merging with the headlights.