Any PHer suffering from an obsessive interest in everything that emerges from BMW M (which, let’s face it, is most of us) will likely recall that the maker of many wonderful things started touting its investigation of a four-motor EV some years ago. Well, evidently the manufacturer has been hard at it ever since, and with the launch of the next generation of M3 now dimly visible on the horizon, it has decided now is the time to talk a little more about it - specifically with a new YouTube series called, appropriately enough, BMW M Electrified.
The first episode deals with the development of its new all-wheel-drive system, powered by a motor assigned to each wheel, but also the centralised control system that BMW has christened the ‘Heart of Joy’ (to distinguish it from the ‘Hand of God’). Unsurprisingly, it is this combination that has been proposed to ‘implement the driver’s wishes more precisely, faster, and more independently than ever before’.
“Something like this is simply not possible with conventional drive technology,” reckons Dirk Häcker, Head of Development at BMW M. “To exploit this huge performance advantage, the integrated control algorithm we have developed is a key success factor for the concept, alongside the four engines. We use this driving coordinator as a central point to calculate the ideal power transmission for each individual e-motor and thus for each individual wheel in each driving situation.
“Of course, this also means that the battery technology has to be able to cope with instantaneous energy absorption in addition to the rapid energy release under full acceleration – because the recuperation performance of the four motors will be significantly higher than that of current e-vehicles. We are convinced that such a concept will open up a whole new dimension of performance. It may even be the ultimate expansion stage in this area.”
In official remarks accompanying the new video, Häcker also confirmed that the current prototypes were essentially now in their second generation, and had taken three years to get to their current status - partly due to ‘bottlenecks’ with suppliers and logistics. He conceded that by using exclusively new technology the firm knew it would be taking ‘a big step’ but the installation of a unique powertrain was a fundamental part of the future model’s DNA.
While the prototypes are based on the existing i4 M50, the model has been substantially modified and strengthened. Häcker was also at pains to stress that even at this early stage, the car was being engineered with fast lap times in mind. “Yes, the model will perform just as confidently on racetracks and withstand higher loads like our previous M automobiles do,” he said. “That's also our very personal aspiration in the team, and let's be honest: Without a racetrack capability, the model wouldn't be an authentic BMW M either.”
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