Take any petrol car sold today and show it to a mechanic working on a Ford Model T 100 years ago and there is a fairly good chance they would understand roughly how it works. An internal combustion engine at the front turns the wheels, carrying a driver behind a steering wheel, some passengers and luggage. No longer will the shape of the car be defined so rigidly by bulky engines, exhaust gas handling or driveshafts. At the same time, digital technology promises to replace everything from rear-view mirrors to the human driver. Never has the car industry had to cope with so many changes all at once.

"We cannot predict the future," says BMW Group design chief Adrian van Hooydonk, "but we can take a stance. That's what our company feels is very important, to try and shape the future before it shapes you." And the future, says van Hooydonk, is a lot closer than many think. He is convinced the next paradigm for the automobile and individual mobility will be shaped by technologies that will become commonplace in the next 10 years. So what does the BMW Vision Next 100, the first of four advanced concepts to be unveiled this year as BMW celebrates its centenary, reveal about a 100-year-old automaker's idea of the future?