BMW Vision – Overview

Adrian van Hooydonk, director of BMW’s group design, explains the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics as “the sport car of the future, the way BMW imagines it.” This two door concept vehicle to be unveiled at the forthcoming Frankfurt Auto Show. Think of it as a vehicle of the many fuel-efficient technologies that BMW has in several stages of development. Some of the technologies already appear in production vehicles, while the feasibility of rolling out other systems stretch the future to the point of never.

BMW company has a great goal to combine groundbreaking efficiency and breath-taking speed. In the BMW Vision, that boils down to 4.8-second 0-to-60 mph acceleration and 63 mpg.

First, BMW engineers combine a turbo charged small diesel engine and the mildest forms of hybrid technology use the rear axle. In Europe this series car comes on the kind of combo in BMW1’s standard. The Vision’s setup is a little more similar to the BMW 320d, which uses a 2.0-liter four-cylinder diesel to deliver 162 hp, while gifted over 57 mpg, also to debut in Frankfurt. The BMW Vision takes it a step further by downsizing the engine to a 1.5-liter three-cylinder diesel engine mated with the more robust hybrid system found in the costly BMW ActiveHybrid7, estimated in the US early next year.

If you don’t satisfied with 162 hp, BMW adds a second motor to drive the front wheels exclusively by electricity. This power can put out 356 hp when the motors and the diesel engine are called into service. The BMW Vision is aerodynamic and lightweight. The design features an aluminum chassis and suspension, and an outer skin made mostly of polycarbonate glass. The car’s ‘slimy’ design boasts a drag coefficient of 0.22 –Toyota Prius just 0.25.

BMW Vision utilizes plug-in hybrid technology to lessen the fuel efficiency penalty paid for power. This make BMW Vision becomes more of a fantasy. The combination of hybrid techonologies and diesel is generally viewed as cost unaffordable. As BMW is promising, with enough battery power to permit the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics to travel for 30 miles of all-electric drive, would send costs through the roof.

Moreover, BMW Vision only needs a 187-pound 10.8 kWh battery to achieve the 30-mile all-electric goal. To pull that off, BMW Vision will release the battery pack’s capacity by 80 percent, which is likely to considerably lessen the durability of the battery.

Slipping further into fantasy-of course, the vehicle is mostly eye candy-the BMW Vision’s energy management system uses sensors to anticipate the driver’s needs to regulate engine, electrical components, motors, and even front grille louvers for great performance and maximum efficiency. For instance, the management system could anticipate traffic congestion ahead to boost regenerative braking or expect a merge on to a highway to let the engine hum and the motors buzz. BMW says the system can even help you more quickly find a parking space.

Another articles by Johan Young you may interest in reading: 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid, Best Selling Hybrid-1, Best Selling Hybrid-2, and Best Selling Hybrid-3.