Wheels BMW Motorrad CE 04

Quadrophenia goes electric

That’s a far cry from the Aprilia scooter I had as a rebellious teen… You bet, and this one swaps the ‘wasp in a can’ engine note for a near-silent ride. It builds on the foundations laid by the C Evolution, a battery-powered city slicker launched in 2014. That hasn’t been a massive success for BMW, but perhaps we’re now ready for the next generation of emissions-free two-wheeled commuting.

But this is still a concept, right? Yes, it’s both a design study and a platform for testing out new tech… but also a finished article. In fact, don’t be shocked if the production machine looks very close to this.

It does look a bit Quadrophenia.

It appears the Definition CE 04’s designers have been bingeing on the Mods vs Rockers classic, in between repeats of Blade Runner and Minority Report. Alongside the sharp styling, low-slung ‘floating’

seat and smartphone-enabled 10.25in TFT infotainment display, there’s a light-up accompanying parka for added visibility.

And the performance figures? BMW is keeping tight-lipped about those, but has stated that this scooter is designed for the urban environment, so don’t expect epic range or superbike-rivalling acceleration. Instead, it’s been designed for maximum convenience – think multiple stowage areas and a wireless charging slot for your phone.

So… will it see the light of day? BMW has a great track record of taking slightly mad concepts like this into production, and has already stated that the Definition CE 04 transfers the radical design of its 2017 Concept Link machine to “production readiness with almost unchanged design”. If that isn’t a hint, we don’t know what is.