8 minute read
MOTORS
ECO WARRIOR
PAR EXCELLENCE…
It’s one wow after another with the iX - BMW’s stunning new all-electric flagship vehicle, writes Paul Agnew. Photography: Andy Tighe
Car designers are driven by a desire to lead – to foresee and capture the motoring demands of tomorrow and deliver them today. With the new iX – an all-electric motor par excellence – BMW has raced to the front of the field, leaving the rest to form an orderly queue, somewhere deep in the distance. If ever a car warranted a number plate ‘OMG 1’ this is surely it! BMW’s new technology flagship vehicle represents a fresh interpretation of design, emission-free driving pleasure, versatility and luxury.
The global market has just unveiled two model variants – the iX M40 and iX M50, both displaying extraordinary commitment to sustainability through responsible use of resources and minimisation of the carbon footprint at all stages of the car’s life cycle. You’ll find extensive use of secondary raw, natural and re-cycled materials, a high proportion of secondary aluminium and recycled plastic, almost no use of chrome, FSC-certified wood (Forest Management Certification), leather tanned with olive leaf extract, floor coverings and mats made from recovered fishing nets. But this is far more than an eco-warrior, designed to tick boxes. I was entrusted to test drive the iX40 which not only looks magnificent but handles superbly and can sprint from 0-62mph in a shade over six seconds – the iX50 knocks a second off.
Obviously no slouch and for those who still harbour ‘range anxiety’ with all-electric cars, just relax – the travel distance range is close on 250 miles (370 miles in the iX50). One electric motor at the front axle and another at the rear, gives both models electric all-wheel drive and outstandingly low energy consumption. State-of-the-art charging technology allows the battery to be charged from 10 per cent to 80 per cent of full capacity in 40 minutes, when using a three-phase charger. A 10-minute fast charge adds 56 miles (75 miles iX50).
This significant increase in efficiency and range is helped by intelligent, lightweight design and optimised aerodynamics. An aluminium spaceframe construction with carbon cage, minimises weight. The BMW iX refines the successful Sports Activity Vehicle concept. It’s an imposing, muscular beast with a nod to the proportions of models across the BMW portfolio – the exterior length and width of the X5, the height of the X6 and the wheel dimensions of the X7. There’s an eye-catching, vertical and (almost) enclosed BMW kidney grille serving as an intelligence panel with integrated sensors, camera and radar technology for advanced driver assistance systems.
The new technology toolkit enables further advances in the areas of automated driving and digital services with a very high level of computing power for data processing, extremely powerful sensors and 5G capability for optimised automated driving and parking functions. As a whole it’s been designed from the inside out and there is a luxurious feeling of wellbeing created by generous levels of space, a high-quality mix of materials, a slim instrument panel, newly developed seats with integral head restraints and an exceptionally large panoramic glass roof with electrochromic shading available as an option. And the breathtaking style continues with a unique curved display, spanning a fully-digital screen grouping made up of 12.3-inch Information Display and 14.9-inch Control Display with singlepiece, frameless glass surface. The best yet? Very possibly. An Intelligent Personal Assistant offers extra skills – an extremely intuitive sumptuously designed centre console with an innovative new rocker switch for gear selection. It’s one ‘wow’ after another, not forgetting the hexagonal steering wheel with heating on a three-stage control. Come on, get a grip! Optional Bowers & Wilkins surround sound system takes the in-car audio experience into a new dimension. There’s concert hall ambience created by a fully active sound system, audio control that responds to dynamic performance and five individually selectable sound modes.
There are 30 speakers in total, eight of which are integrated into the head restraints of the front and rear seats. There’s innovative 4D audio function generated using magnetically controlled ‘shakers’ in the front seats. Oh, and don’t ever worry about opening the bonnet – unless you’re an authorised BMW technician that simply won’t be necessary. If you want to fill the windscreen washers, just push down on the front BMW badge and the opening will appear, as if by magic. Anything left to say? Probably not. n
Bowker BMW Trident Park, Trident Way Blackburn BB1 3NU 01254 274444 bowkermotorgroup.co.uk
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IN THE BLOOD…
David Fearnhead speaks to George Holden, a second-generation championship winning sidecar racer from Clitheroe, who will be competing in the 2022 British Championships
On a high plateau in Derbyshire, amongst the traditional patchwork of the English countryside, a mystical triangle cuts its large way through the landscape. Darley Moor is no ancient relic left by the druids. Fly a little closer to the ground and its features become more visible. The top of the triangle forms the loop of a hairpin and then are chicanes and ripple strips. The WWII airfield was converted into a racetrack in 1965, and it holds a special significance for one Ribble Valley racer.
George Holden is the son of double Isle of Man TT sidecar winner John Holden. Having spent a childhood following his
father around the British racing calendar and then helping out as a mechanic, the moment finally came when Holden senior could look across the grid and see his son lined up alongside him.
“It was a special moment for the both of us,” 28-year-old George Holden recalls. “I knew I wouldn’t beat him – he was on for the win. Having supported him for so long, it was just a pleasure to be racing against him.”
That was 2019. It would take another two years before he finally chalked his first win over the man who’d inspired him to race. At Cadwell Park the two Holdens had battled it out with the son claiming a narrow victory having caught and passed his father on a rain-soaked track.
Touchingly, George reveals that although his father, must have been a bit gutted to lose such a tight race he didn’t show it: “He was happy for me and told me how
Photography: Nigel Franklin
proud he was.
“It’s a fantastic benchmark to have. My dad’s always been there or thereabouts in races. So if I can get anywhere near to what he’s achieved then I’m happy. We don’t keep a tally against each other, but it’s only a small number of times that I’ve beaten him.”
The sporting and literary world is full of father pitted against son drama. The young pretender to the crown, the belligerent father who feels threatened by his own blood. There is none of that with the Holden family. Here, the father/son dynamic remains unchanged. “He won’t hold anything back from me thinking we are the competition. He’ll do anything to help me and vice versa. Even though we are in different teams with different sponsors, we work as a team as well.”
George’s respect for his father is evident. When looking for heroes he didn’t have to look far. Now he’s on his own journey to succeed in the racing world and maintain the family’s association with sidecar racing. Even George’s girlfriend, Sarah Stokoe, competes. Predictably they met through racing.
Both John and George are drivers. The other half of a sidecar team is known ironically as the ‘passenger’. They are anything but. Even George admits he’s not
“Ian Barnes has helped me more than anyone. Also John Cable, David Johnson Builders, Simon Gill from Barrowbridge Construction and Bill Townson from Townson Tractors. I’d like to thank my dad and Fi, Sarah, Rick and all my team too. And I’d love to find more people who want to be involved and join the team.”
Far from being a charitable endeavour, sponsoring a sidecar team is actually a clever bit of marketing. The British Championship George competes in is run alongside the
daft enough to do it. They are the ones who throw themselves over the bodywork in an effort to improve grip around the corners – hanging perilously, just inches above the tarmac.
George’s passenger is Oscar Lawrence, whose father was also a British Champion. The two have formed a close bond having competed as a team for the past two years. Having won the prestigious Bemsee Club Championship in 2020, the duo now compete in the British F1 Sidecar Championships against the best teams in the country.
“I was really lucky. We both started racing around the same time, though he was 17. He’s only 19 now, fit as anything, and really keen to do well. He’s also become a good friend.”
Whilst Oscar goes half on the fuel and entry costs, the rest of the budget for running the bike falls on George. To be competitive it can cost around £32,000 a season and he’s reliant on local sponsors to help keep the team going. British Superbikes, which can attract crowds of 50,000 and reaches a TV audience in the hundreds of thousands via Eurosport.
“It’s Formula One on three wheels,” says George. “Unlike the bikes where it’s hard to see sponsors we are more like billboards.”
Though admittedly billboards that regularly reach speeds of 140mph. n
Anyone interested in becoming a sponsor of Holden Racing or to learn more about the team can visit their social media pages
@holdenracing93
