BMW, like many other car companies, is hard at work developing electric vehicles, and this includes products specifically designed for driving enthusiasts. Building excitement and explaining some of the engineering magic that’s going on behind the scenes, the speed demons at the Bavarian automaker’s M division just released another teaser video, one that appears to highlight an upcoming all-electric M3.
Benchmarking Today’s M3
Titled, “BMW M Electrified – Episode 3. Controlling the Beast,” this beautifully shot and edited feature walks through some of the development work that’s happening, and touches on certain performance metrics. The first all-electric M car, for instance, is expected to meet – or exceed – the brand’s existing M3, an iconic product for BMW.
Heavily camouflaged versions of this upcoming EV are shown in the video, and the development mule looks broadly similar to the current M3, gigantic flared-nostril grille and all. Aside from that, BMW M also shared a tiny snippet of powertrain noise. This upcoming M EV appears to simulate a combustion engine, the resulting noise seeming like a combination of traditional BMW inline-six and Hoover upright vacuum cleaner.
Controllability Is The Real Challenge
Of course, it’s easy to get huge performance out of all-electric vehicles; some modern EVs have more than 1,000 horsepower. Managing all that output is the real challenge, something BMW M’s latest teaser also covers. “Things start getting complicated if you talk about controllability,” said Franciscus van Meel, CEO of BMW GmbH in this video. He also explained that M cars are precise and predictable, traits that can be difficult to achieve with EVs.
Having driven the all-electric M3, van Meel said, “You never have the feeling the car’s doing something you don’t want it to do. It is obeying my orders, and it helps me to be a better driver.” With their second-generation of test cars, engineers are working to strike the right balance between performance and controllability.
The Secret Lies In The Architecture
To deliver all this, BMW is redesigning its underlying electrical architecture. Today, each vehicle subsystem, from the motors and brakes to the steering and stability control program has its own control module. These computers all have to communicate over a rather slow network connection, plus they often work against each other. Addressing these issues, engineers are developing one central “brain” for all dynamic functions. This should allow for much faster control of various systems, and a more seamless driving experience.
“It’s hard to explain because I’m a vehicle dynamics engineer, so, I’ve driven a lot of cars,” said van Meel. “And then you’re sitting in a car, and you drive it, and you say, ‘This is completely different.’ It’s not unnatural, actually it is natural, and you say, ‘This is something I’ve been waiting [for] the past 45 years,’” he added. “So, that’s really a big ‘ah-ha moment.’”
The stakes are high, and we can’t wait to see what BMW’s engineers are cooking up. Hopefully, the all-electric M3 delivers everything van Meel says it does and more.
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