BMW Says Its Neue Klasse Cars Are Like Octopuses, But Better

We’ve seen some strange ad campaigns from car companies over the years, from hamsters in Kia Souls to Charlie Sheen shilling for Fiat. This new campaign from BMW might top all those, though. It features a computer-generated octopus. It’s named “Okto,” which we can’t say is particularly creative, but, hey, this is from a company that names all of its cars with alphanumerics, so we suppose we can cut them some slack. But apparently the point of Okto’s appearance is to show that a normal octopus is inferior to the upcoming BMW Neue Klasse cars. It actually makes sense, but it’s still a weird way to advertise the cars’ technology.

The Details On The Ad

BMW shared its first video ad featuring Okto on Instagram, and we’ve embedded it below. It starts off talking about how the arms of an octopus have their own nervous systems that can handle a variety of tasks on their own (and, yes, that is true). It then goes on to hypothesize that an octopus could do some incredible things if it also had some sort of additional nervous system doing additional coordination of those individual systems. That’s when the octopus ballet begins. It’s then cut short because the octopus doesn’t have that extra managing neural system. However, a BMW Neue Klasse does, and thus it’s better than an octopus.

Here’s What BMW Is Talking About

This all sounds bizarre, and it is, but BMW isn’t as crazy as you think. The computer system on the Neue Klasse vehicles is a little bit like an octopus. The car has a whole bunch of small groups of sensors and controllers. They’re all wirelessly connected to the car’s four main computers, which take all that information and manage what should happen in the various corners of the car.

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One of those computers is what BMW calls the “Heart of Joy,” which is mentioned in the commercial. This computer is actually the one that manages all the dynamic aspects of the car, so it manages the motors, traction control, and suspension settings among others. Other computers handle other tasks such as comfort settings or infotainment. In some ways, it actually seems more like the Neue Klasse will be more like four super octopuses combined.

The First Neue Klasse Model Is Coming Soon

BMW previewed the Neue Klasse line a couple of years ago, first with a sedan, and then with an SUV. The order for the production models will be flipped, with the SUV coming first. It will bear the name iX3, and is slated to be shown at the IAA Mobility Conference this September. The styling will be extremely close to the concept, and the car will have some impressive numbers behind it. BMW is claiming a range of up to 500 miles thanks to new 800-volt battery packs. The 3 Series-sized sedan will follow sometime next year, and even more models on the platform will arrive in the coming years.

Source: Smithsonian Magazine