BMW makes it crystal clear that the Imaginative and prescient Driving Expertise doesn’t have a connection to a manufacturing mannequin. That’s as a result of the electrical M3 coming in a few years gained’t be almost as excessive because the VDX. The idea exhibits what the engineers are able to after they’re allowed to go all out. It demonstrates what’s doable once you don’t have to fret in regards to the restrictions sometimes utilized to a road-going mannequin.
There are 5 underbody followers to suck the automotive onto the bottom for static downforce. Quad motors produce a mixed 18,000 Nm (almost 13,300 lb-ft) of torque and as a lot as 1,700 horsepower. One of many idea’s many occasion methods is a super-aggressive brake vitality recuperation mode. Whereas in Shanghai this week, BMWBLOG realized the VDX can put sufficient juice again into the battery when braking from 62 mph (100 km/h) to zero to cost 21 iPhones.
Though Neue Klasse fashions gained’t have this hardcore model of the brake vitality recuperation system, it’s a testomony to how the so-called “Coronary heart of Pleasure” central pc can shortly course of info. With this new tech, BMW estimates that 98 % of drivers gained’t even have to make use of the friction brakes. The braking energy generated throughout vitality recuperation mode is sufficient for normal driving.
Urgent the brake pedal solely turns into crucial underneath arduous braking. Avoiding the usage of typical brakes boosts effectivity by as a lot as 25%. The brutal deceleration is overkill for a manufacturing mannequin, however the VDX is a take a look at rig to point out what’s technically doable. If the 4 super-brains that make up the “Coronary heart of Pleasure” management unit can deal with it, no matter BMW is making ready for manufacturing automobiles ought to be straightforward to course of.
We are going to find out how BMW has translated the VDX’s capabilities to a street automotive later this 12 months. The primary Neue Klasse mannequin is ready for an early September reveal. That’s once we’ll see the second-generation iX3 break cowl on the IAA Mobility present in Munich. Come 2026, the i3 sedan and a long-wheelbase iX3 will observe.
