After extensive testing in laboratories and workshops, on test benches and on the racetrack, technicians, engineers and drivers have completed the first test cycle for the future all-electric drive system of BMW M. The developers set themselves an immense challenge – to create a drive system that is as dynamic, powerful and emotional as customers would expect from a BMW M high-performance vehicle.
BMW M comes from motorsport. And if you build cars coming from racing, you have a different approach. Actually, with the electric cars, we come from more or less a white sheet of paper to build a new generation of cars.
CEO of BMW M GmbH
ELECTRIC EMOTION.
ELECTRIC EMOTION.
Developing a fully electric high-performance BMW M model that inspires the same enthusiasm as all previous M vehicles is a demanding and multifaceted challenge. The engine sound plays a significant role here. Classic BMW M models evoke emotions not least thanks to their powerful engine sound. The ‘symphonies’ composed by cylinders, valves, flap control and exhaust systems have been thrilling fans and customers of BMW M vehicles for generations. However, since an electric motor emits mainly a faint hum, the developers were faced with the challenge of using technical means to enrich the electric motor sound to such an extent that it lends the extreme performance its own acoustic character. The acoustic feedback also makes the fully electric M models more driver-oriented and even more emotionally engaging – typical M.
FULLY ELECTRIC PERFORMANCE FOR THE EARS.
FULLY ELECTRIC PERFORMANCE FOR THE EARS.
To achieve this, the team worked with acoustic specialists at BMW M in Aschheim in the acoustic rooms – special rooms with high sound absorption in which every type of sound can be optimised. M vehicles with combustion engines served as a guide on the way to the perfect drive sound. In numerous set-ups, various M engines, including the power units of icons such as the BMW M4 GTS F82, the BMW M6 Cabrio E64 and the BMW M3 E90, were elaborately equipped with special microphones in order to identify the frequencies that create the emotional BMW M sound.
Although one or two wind deflectors for microphones that were positioned too close to the exhaust systems were lost along the way, the result of these efforts is impressive: during the final test drives on the race track, the fully electric test vehicles produced a highly individual sound that combines the characteristics of an electric drive with the powerful frequencies of a high-performance BMW M combustion engine.
The demands placed on us and our components are extremely high. We will do everything we can to prove to customers that M can also be fully electric.
Project Manager for Drive Electrification & Head of High-Voltage Storage & Charging at BMW M
M ELECTRIFIED – THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.
M ELECTRIFIED – THE BEST OF BOTH WORLDS.
The development of the first fully electric drive was literally set up next door to colleagues who work on combustion engine development at BMW M. More than 50 years of experience in what makes a BMW M special for customers could thus be directly incorporated into the development process. Notable results include four electric motors, one per wheel, each with its own transmission and clutch. There is also the high-performance computer for driving dynamics, known as the Heart of Joy, with its special control software, BMW M Dynamic Performance Control. Both new developments take BMW M driving dynamics to an unprecedented level.
HIGH-VOLTAGE BATTERY FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE.
HIGH-VOLTAGE BATTERY FOR HIGH PERFORMANCE.
Another important breakthrough on the road to the first fully electric BMW M drive is the development of the extremely powerful high-voltage storage system and battery cells specially designed for high-performance operation. The cells are characterised by optimised power output and reduced heat generation, enabling smooth operation even on the racetrack, as you would expect from a BMW M.
At the end of the first test cycle, the test vehicles based on the BMW i4 – affectionately named ‘Ashley’ and ‘Nadine’ by the developers – will be retired. Their task was to answer the fundamental question of whether, as project manager Axel Theiling puts it, BMW M ‘can also be fully electric’. For the developers, the answer is a resounding yes.
I see all the opportunities from electrification. It almost makes me humble to be in the position to be able to do that. It’s an honour to be part of that.
CEO of BMW M GmbH
