Connected cars drive the agenda in Vegas

This year, we’ve had a shorter and more compact version of CES. There are fewer brands on the floor and even fewer visitors. Despite this, we’ve still seen auto manufacturers wowing us with high-tech concepts and creativity. Pratik Rakshit takes you through the most important ones

- Pratik Rakshit

BMW has given its iX all-electric SUV the M treatment and the result is the German manufacturer’s most powerful electric car yet showcased at CES 2022. The BMW iX M60 claims the top spot in the electric vehicle stable with 619hp on tap, trumping the i4 M50 sedan and is now the third variant of the iX. It features dedicated BMW M performance upgrades that are meant to enhance the performance and handling of the car while maintaining a range of more than 566km. It gets a twin motor setup with all four wheels drawing power and air suspension. In sport mode and with launch control active, peak torque supplied is rated at 1,100Nm. It can accelerate from 0 to 100kmph in 3.8 seconds and hit an electronically limited top speed of 250kmph.

BMW iX Flow

BMW has really outdone itself this time around with the iX Flow, which has the ability to change its color at the touch of a button. So how does it work? Well, it’s all thanks to a specially developed wrap with electrophoretic technology in it that can change pigmentation when stimulated with an electrical signal. Millions of microcapsules coat the car, each with negatively charged white pigments and positively charged black pigments.

The same is achievable on the inside, with interiors switching to white to stop them from heating up on a hot day. All this in turn then means you don’t crank the air conditioning as much, reducing energy usage. Quite practical!