BMW recently disclosed a new screw head patent inspired by its iconic roundel logo, featuring a four-quadrant design, two recessed sections paired with flat or raised surfaces, creating a unique geometric pattern incompatible with standard Phillips, hex, or Torx tools. Potential applications include seat mounting as well as interior and body connection points.

The patent covers various head shapes, including embedded, flat, and curved types. If implemented in mass-produced vehicles, owners and technicians would need specialized screwdriver bits, significantly increasing the barrier to entry for DIY maintenance. 

This design was filed in June 2024 and published on December 11; it is currently only in the drawing stage. Although BMW patented this bolt design, it remains to be seen if they will actually use it on production cars.