With its recent slew of Vision Next 100 concepts, the Concept Ninety and the R5 Homage, BMW has become something of a king of concepts. At the Concorso d’Eleganza Villa d’Este, it added one more to the list: the Concept Link electric scooter.
The Concept Link, created primarily for urban riding, is driven by a compact electric motor that is powered by large, flat batteries contained under the floor. This allows the bulk of the bike’s weight to be kept low down, and impart it with a look that is decidedly unique. The overall height is also low, making it that much easier to hop on and off, and the electric motor is powerful enough to make for enjoyable urban riding. The electric scooter also has a reverse gear, a seat that can be changed from a sporty single to a more practical double, and a large underseat storage area accessible via a sliding hatch that is controlled by hand gestures.
The e-scooter is said to establish a link between the analogue and digital world, and as with almost all concepts today, the Concept Link is part motorcycle and part communication device. It can sync with your online accounts, download your calendar, and recommend routes and music. Other innovative tech includes a heads-up display that projects speed, navigation and battery charge levels onto the windscreen and a touch-sensitive panel located below the handlebars.
There is no real way of knowing if and when BMW will get the Concept Link into production, but considering the heavy investments it is making in its electric scooter range, we could see something like this in production sooner rather than later.
Azaman Chothia
Vishal Venugopal
