While the BMW Lawyer doesn’t have quite the same ring as the Lincoln Lawyer, the idea of the car as an appropriate work space is the same. In 2005 when Michael Connolly wrote The Lincoln Lawyer, mobile phones were in their comparative infancy, yet it was the introduction in 2001 of 3G technology that enabled the mobile working environment.
And while smartphones were around in the late 90s the data transfer was too slow for real time working until the early 2000s where Moore’s law, (the observation that the number of transistors in an integrated circuit (IC) doubles about every two years) kicked in and technology leapfrogged through Danger Hiphop, Psion’s Symbian Windows and Blackberry. By 2005 the smartphone was not just functional, it was fabulous (for then anyway).
Flash forward to 2023 and the range and quality of mobile internet is staggering. From mobile phone to private satellite (67 per cent connectivity in remote Australia where no mobile connectivity exists), connectivity has increased exponentially. So too has our ability to work away from the office.
The homification of the workplace is trying to draw people back, while simultaneously the workification of home is keeping us happily away. The alternative is the third space, which is neither the home nor the work space, but can be defined as a space for communication or collaboration aka work.
Enter the new BMW 7 Series. A luxury car with everything a good work space requires in terms of being a paper-free office with good ergonomics, fresh air, view, excellent lighting and connectivity. Granted you do have to be in the back seat to use the 32-inch theatre screen, but with 5G connectivity, you don’t have to be stationary. The centrally located 32:9 panoramic format also means you don’t necessarily have to be alone so group meetings are both possible and comfortable.
Ostensibly designed for the luxury business market where work is conducted while a driver keeps the wheels in motion. More recently it has attracted a family market, where long drive comfort and back seat entertainment are essential. More recently still, a hybrid that sees work conducted enroute or even on holiday!
Effectively the level of connectivity means partners or family members with a long commute can take turns working and driving. Alternatively, a long drive is no longer timed to accommodate a meeting. Rather, at the appropriate time the driver pulls over, switches to the back seat and takes the meeting.
With all the luxuries of the BMW brand, the car as office is certainly a third space, perhaps more so as the preliminary efficiency values are realised with the Northern Spring offering of the BMW M760e xDrive as follows: Petrol consumption, combined in WLTP cycle: 1.3 – 1.0 l/100 km (217.3 – 256.8 mpg imp). Electric power consumption, combined in WLTP cycle: 21.8 – 20.2 kWh/100 km. CO2 emissions from petrol, combined in WLTP cycle: 29 – 23 g/km.
BMW
Photography
Courtesy BMW
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