BMW has yet to release a full-fledged M Electric Car, though it’s in the works. BMW M is asking itself, as the division’s head of development, Dirk Häcker puts it, “What could an M vehicle of the future with a purely electric drivetrain look like?” We can see some of what the brand is envisioning in a new video entitled, “BMW M Electrified — Episode 1. The Next Level of Driving Dynamics.” In it, we see the efforts of BMW’s performance division as it works up a prototype based on the BMW i4 M50. We also hear from the folks behind the program and get an idea of what BMW expects an electric M car to be.
BMW M = Four Electric Motors
A particularly interesting quote in the video comes from Carsten Wolf, who’s in charge of BEV Integration Vehicle Characteristics at BMW M: “We will see the technical concepts that we are developing here now, four electric motors in a BMW M High Performance vehicles at some point in the future.”
Dirk Häcker also expounded on the quad-motor future for BMW M EVs in an interview for the BMW M magazine. Whan asked what excited him the most about the prototypes, he said, “This means that not only does each individual wheel generate propulsion, but also that it can be braked independently of the others. We can thus implement the driver’s wishes more precisely, faster, and more independently than ever before – and with the fantastic power of four motors. Something like this is simply not possible with conventional drive technology.”
More Than Just Motors
BMW is taking further measures to ensure that its future EVs perform the way an M vehicle should, and that means handling is key. In order to ensure the four motors work together in the best way possible, M has developed an integrated control algorithm to orchestrate their performance. “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.”
M is also streamlining control over various systems to work in harmony with one another. Instead of using separate control units to control the drivetrain, brake system, steering, etc., M is working to unify these functions with one central control logic.
“Push forward, but also have a stability control in that same brain that controls the car, so there are no control units trying to interfere with each other,” said BMW M CEO Franciscus van Meel in the video.
“That gives you a very special feeling. And it’s so fast and so precise that it actually brings you to a new level.”
M needs to optimize battery performance to achieve its goals, too, in order to both release energy for instant acceleration and recuperate it from all four motors effectively, and this prototype is allowing BMW to pursue high standards in that regard. “We are convinced that such a concept will open up a whole new dimension of performance,” said Häcker. “It may even be the ultimate expansion stage in this area. As an engineer, I don’t know if there is a drive concept that we could pursue that would work better.”
Episode Ends In A Cliffhanger
In the video, we get a countdown to the M team providing the prototype to the BMW Board of Management for a chance to drive the car. In the days leading up to the drive, the prototype experiences some issues that required the team to quickly replace the front motors to get the car back in working condition. We don’t see the board members drive the car, as the test drives occur in a secure setting with no filming allowed.
Van Meel sets the scene for us, however. “We put all of the board members in our car and said, ‘OK, feel it, drive it, and we’ll talk afterwards. And after all of them drove the car, actually, they got out of the car, and they just said nothing.'” He questions whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, before we’re told, “To be continued …”
It’s not clear when the next episode will release, or how many episodes are planned, but it’s intriguing so far. We appreciate the peek behind the scenes, and the updates from the M team about the future of its high-performance EVs.
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