BMW Vision gets green light Over the past decade, BMW has had a rather tumultuous time of it. Ex Chief of Design Chris Bangle’s “flame surfacing” spooned away at the designs for the last decade, creating probably the most radical and polarizing image shift the brand had experienced in its entire history, much to the derision, and division, of its fans and opponents alike. While many people were outraged and appalled at the nouveau-art direction the German staple seemed to have adopted, and BMW were quick (relatively speaking) to tone things down, Mr. Bangle had succeeded in putting BMW into a completely different mindset.
Up to this point, the company perhaps hadn’t really marketed itself as daring or overly adventurous in its design approach, especially regarding its finished products which ultimately ended up on global roads by the thousands. The bulbous 7-series and swoopy Z4 cues from Bangle’s brush had swept away these misconceptions as deftly as it carved lines in the entire range it put on sale. So, while the BMW-loving public have recently enjoyed tamer, more modest designs, BMW had put it out there that they weren’t afraid to take risks; to go in different directions, to test still waters and, if need be, create their own niche markets and consumer groups. Let’s not forget that even the X5 was seen as an inexplicable creature upon its release 11 years ago, yet essentially created one of the most hotly contested categories today, namely the luxury/sport crossover SUV people carrier. The X6, defying all market niches and calling itself a SAV (Sports Activity Vehicle), has been with us for 2 years and we are still trying to find the round hole for this (we think gorgeous) square peg. The X1 competes in a saturated class, almost cannibalizing its only-slightly bigger brother, the X3. The X5 still dominates much of the luxury SUV market, while the X6 checks boxes somewhere between the M3 and the X5. And let’s not forget the 1-, 3-, 5-, 6-
and 7-series… At this rate, I wouldn’t bat an eyelid if BMW announced it would be bringing out a bakkie next week and a hovercraft at the end of 2011. Which is maybe why the announcement of a production version of the Vision EfficientDynamics has the motoring world sitting up and paying attention. Revealed as a “concept study” at the Frankfurt Motor Show of 2009, the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics was a 2+2 seater, gullwinged sports coupe seen as little more than, well, a concept; a manufacturer’s exercise in proving what they could do and not necessarily what they will do. After all, the idea of taking “green” credentials and making them desirable by covering them in a gorgeous body, slim LED lights and slick interior design is nothing new to the motoring world.
Now, BMW has announced that it will soon present a fully road-ready version of this amazing car at the Leipzig Trade Fair Centre, and available information points towards 10 000 serial production Visions going on sale by 2013. The road-ready Vision will not only be packaged and presented in Leipzig as a production vehicle, it will be released to the media at the same time for actual road testing for their impressions of the hybrid system – as brave and committed a comment as can be made for any new model, let alone this one. The hybrid system in question is what has BMW executives, designers and buyers most excited. Basically, what has allowed the Vision to be so efficient and to be developed so quickly, is that it is not an altogether new design concept, based on brand new technology. Rather, it is the culmination of refinements in performance and economy that has been in all BMW vehicles since they started the EfficientDynamics campaign many years ago. The precept is that every component in every vehicle is built and refined, throughout its life and various iterations, to deliver more efficiency, more power, more longevity and ultimately, an improved driving experience from the entire machine.
BMW are renowned for the power and efficiency of their diesel engines, which have won hearts and awards all over the world, while electric engine technology has advanced immensely this decade, with BMW at the forefront with their ActiveHybrid development. The Vision uses a combination of these advancements by utilizing a threecylinder 1.5-litre diesel engine with two electric engines – one for each axle – producing an overall system output of241kW. Couple this to a sleek design of only 1.24m tall and a drag coefficient of 0.22, and the Bavarians promise us a 0-100km/h time of only 4.8 seconds. The astonishing part, of course, is the fuel consumption the Vision will deliver – when a manufacturer claims a figure as precise as 3.76 litres per 100km (and emissions of just 99g/km), you know they’ve done a fair amount of research and testing. Naturally these statistics are obtained only with a modest driving style, but they are still a quarter the amount of any comparable supercar. Another added innovation that aids such frugality is the Vision’s ability to travel up to 50km on the Lithium Polymer batteries alone, which take only two and a half hours to charge from any regular socket. Fill up the 24-litre diesel tank and you’re good for around 700km. Other Vision innovations include brake energy regeneration, lightweight low resistance alloy wheels, “floating” rear LED taillight clusters, full length gullwing doors (allowing access for front and rear passengers), and of course the use of lightweight, energy saving recyclable components wherever possible. The interior is a beautiful collaboration of modern, stark components, some completely new design elements and razorblade accurate lines, while still being practical and functional. It’s difficult to describe but, undoubtedly intentionally, the best word to describe it is “efficient”.
As mentioned, BMW’s commitment towards improved fuel efficiency, lower emissions and their ActiveHybrid technology (electric/combustion engine hybrids available in their series production X6 and 7-series cars) is nothing new. Their hydrogen-powered 7-series fleet and recent success with the electric Mini-E (predicted to go into full production soon, the platform of which will become the basis for its Active-E Megacity electric vehicle in 2013) have been reminders that the company is constantly developing and openly testing future energy sources. However, most ubiquitous is the almost invisible, unsung incorporation of these constantly improving fuel efficiency elements into every generation of every model produced. The Vision is described as “an example of how future-oriented mobility opens up fascinating perspectives in combination with the driving pleasure characteristic of BMW”. BMW’s Vision seems to be a study in how far and how many of their design and efficiency elements could be incorporated into one car – and it happens to be a supercar. - Kevin Willemse