Efficient Dynamics Future Growth Customers Profitability Winning new customers by asking new questions.
More driving pleasure, lower emissions: No other automobile manufacturer in the world today implements this principle more successfully than the BMW Group. Our engineers are already working on the next Efficient Dynamics technologies on the future of efficient, high-performance mobility. Drive strategy Vehicle architecture Aerolab Design Heat management Systems development Energy management Lightweight construction technology
39 Topic three Efficient Dynamics Fresh ideas 1.8 million times over When it comes to reducing fuel consumption and CO 2 emissions, the BMW and MINI brands outperform all other competitors in the premium segment. This unique position was earned through Efficient Dynamics technologies which already enable enhanced performance and lower emissions in more than 1.8 million BMW and MINI vehicles on the road today. This development strategy still holds tremendous potential, as illustrated by the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car, a fascinating project realised jointly by BMW engineers and designers from totally different disciplines.
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43 Topic three Efficient Dynamics 1 1 Every detail of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics was optimised. 2 Its design combines lightweight construction throughout with aerodynamic qualities. 2 If efficiency and dynamic performance were seen as an incentive instead of a contradiction, what would it mean for individual mobility?
44 0.22 Air resistance By comparison, conventional sports cars only achieve a maximum of 0.29 C x Holger Winkelmann, head of Aerodynamics A top speed of 250 km / h provided by a 120 kw engine that was the goal right from the start of development of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept. Ambitious parameters like these represent a huge challenge for designers and aerodynamics experts alike: Such a sporty but efficient vehicle demands an extremely aerodynamic design. For this, it is necessary to precisely determine how the vehicle s components can be used to the best aerodynamic effect. This means imagining new concepts with complex fluid mechanical processes that even experienced aerodynamicists have trouble grasping. However, these complex relationships are currently being explored at the BMW Group s new Munich-based Aerodynamics Testing Centre. Inside the 170-millioneuro facility the most advanced of its kind in the world we are able to simulate wind speeds of up to 300 kilometres per hour, as well as cornering and even passing manoeuvres. This is where the Air Curtain was created: Air hangs like an invisible curtain over the front wheels, optimising the airflow around the wheel arch. This aerodynamic trick can be seen in the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics and will soon be a standard feature in many of our vehicles. How do you design vehicles that are radically different? Can air be used to overcome air resistance? Johannes Liebl, head of Efficient Dynamics Our development departments are home to a great many experts who are undoubtedly among the best in their particular field of specialisation. But the most amazing ideas occur when you put them together in a room with other specialists: with the best and brightest from totally different disciplines; people who question why things have to be done a particular way and whether it wouldn t be possible to do them completely differently. The BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car was born from many such questions. It is precisely this approach of developing, discussing and building things differently that we are currently applying to future generations of our series models. It is still too early to say exactly what they will look like. But we are on the verge of solving some extremely interesting questions. But one thing is certain: We will once again be bringing improved dynamic performance, combined with increased efficiency, to the road.
45 Topic three Efficient Dynamics 3 4 3 As BMW energy minister, Johannes Liebl coordinates Efficient Dynamics research. 4 Holger Winkelmann (left) knows how to build with air. 5 Test bench at the new Aerodynamics Testing Centre 6 Flow optimisation for the Vision EfficientDynamics 5 6
46 1.4 t Weight Thanks to a lightweight construction strategy implemented consistently throughout 7 8 Why does better safety have to mean more weight? Jochen Esmann, head of Lightweight Construction and Vehicle Weight The history of automobile manufacturing is one of steady improvements in safety and comfort. That is a good thing and important, too. All the same, every additional airbag and every increase in crash safety automatically means more weight and therefore requires more fuel. At least, that is how it was until a few years ago: Now we have begun to reverse the upward spiral in weight. What does a vehicle need to be able to do? And what should that feature be allowed to weigh? Which lightweight materials, new kinds of vehicle topology and combined functions will allow the required features to be realised at the lowest possible weight? Questions like these accompany us throughout the entire development process. They are uncomfortable, difficult questions with no easy answers. But they help us develop vehicles that offer considerably more comfort and safety for relatively few extra kilos.
47 Topic three Efficient Dynamics Siegfried Koelbel, head of Systems Development, Lateral and Vertical Dynamics Laws of physics dictate that the narrower the tyre, the lower its rolling resistance; the lower the rolling resistance, the lower the vehicle s fuel consumption. A ten percent decrease in rolling resistance means at least one percent lower fuel consumption. In theory, we would only have to use narrow, low-resistance tyres to reduce fuel consumption and emissions. Reducing rolling resistance is a lot more difficult in practice, however. Our top priority is always to maximise safety for the driver and the vehicle and narrower tyres obviously offer less traction. At the same time, we also want our customers to continue to enjoy BMW s signature dynamic driving experience. Both safety and dynamic performance can realistically be achieved with the new lower-resistance tyres we are currently researching. But it will take extensive testing and numerous adjustments to find the ideal combination of the three parameters: structure, profile and material. However, a technological breakthrough that we hope to have on the roads as quickly as possible is imminent. How do you make a tyre that is both safe and economical? Mario Majdandzic, designer The only way to reach totally new dimensions is to take a totally new approach. For instance, for the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car design engineers, developers and designers worked in a development process that is at least as efficient and dynamic as the end product. Within a very short period of time this process produced a high-end vehicle in which every detail is optimised for the greatest possible efficiency and maximum sportiness. For example, we designed its rear lights so that, besides their main signalling function, they would also work as airfoils to optimise rear-end aero dynamics. We are also rapidly integrating similar smart components with dual functions into our series models. As a result, it should be possible in the future to recognise an efficient and dynamic vehicle from its design, and not just from its consumption and performance figures. Why will a rear light never be just a rear light again? 7 Jochen Esmann (second from right) replaces kilos with ideas. 8 Mario Majdandzic (second from right) gives rear lights a new function. 9 Craftsmanship goes into the concept car. 10 Lightweight construction of the Vision EfficientDynamics body 9 10
48 3.76 l Fuel consumption /100 km Andreas Eder, manager Thermal Management Advanced Development and Simulation It doesn t take sophisticated measuring equipment to feel the thermal energy lost by a car. All you have to do is hold your hand close to a warm exhaust pipe. No more than one third of the energy supplied to the combustion engine from fuel is converted into movement; two thirds are lost as heat through the radiator or exhaust pipe. We intend to put a share of these remaining two thirds to work in the future. For this, we will use a thermoelectric generator (TEG) to convert some of the heat lost into electric current. NASA already uses this technology to supply its spacecraft with energy. But, however surprising it may seem, much lower standards of materials and technology are required in space than on earth: On the roads, our generators must be able to withstand conditions like constant stop-and-go traffic, vibrations and drastic temperature swings. Unlike NASA, we also have to find solutions that can be used hundreds of thousands of times at a reasonable cost throughout our entire fleet. Our TEG has already helped save several percent in fuel in the Vision EfficientDynamics vehicle. In the series models we are currently working on, we hope to be able to meet the vehicle s total electric power requirements over longer distances. In this, the TEG is the perfect complement to the brake energy regeneration that comes as standard: With the TEG, we regenerate energy not only from braking, but also from accelerating and driving at a constant speed. Only a third of the energy from fuel is currently used so what could you do with the other two thirds? Theodor Melcher, developer, Powertrain, Director CoC Strategy, Pre Development, Architecture Powertrain Even after many years, there are still occasional surprises in store for our experienced engine developers. We knew, for instance, that we could reach new dimensions of performance and efficiency by combining a small-volume turbo diesel engine with two high-performance electric drives, as we had in the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics. But we were still surprised by the concept car s exceptionally dynamic performance on the road. Its fuel consumption in the European driving cycle is only 3.76 litres per 100 kilometres, with a CO 2 emission rating of no more than 99 grams per kilometre. In other words, it combines the sporty performance of a BMW M automobile with the fuel consumption of a small car. That was a very pleasant surprise and one with potential for the future. How dynamic can an electric drive potentially be? 11 Avoiding energy loss: thermoelectric generator in the exhaust gas system 12 Prototype in test operation: technology test in a workshop vehicle 13 Teaching vehicles how to think: Geert Schmitz (left) 14 Turning waste heat into electricity: TEG in the hands of Andreas Eder (centre) 11 12
49 Topic three Efficient Dynamics 13 14 How to teach a car to think like a driver, but just one step ahead? Geert Schmitz, Energy Management, head of Energy Concepts Imagine a car approaching a traffic jam far ahead. Or, to take another example: a driver heading home from work along his usual route. Wouldn t it make sense for the vehicle to prepare for each scenario? Say, if it could charge its battery so it could save fuel by driving through heavy traffic and residential areas on just its electric engine? What if it could notify the driver of speed limits ahead and help avoid unnecessary braking? We already know that defensive driving uses up to 20 percent less fuel. That is why we are working on driver assistance systems to notify drivers proactively about gradients and traffic jams. In the future, drivers will also be able to access fuel-saving route recommendations to fit the type of vehicle they drive and their individual driving style. We group technology issues such as these under the term forward-looking energy management because they help the vehicle and its driver to drive defensively and thereby save fuel. They are also referred to as forward-looking because we see a promising future in these developments.
50 15 How much reality is there in a vision? Johannes Liebl, head of Efficient Dynamics In the words of songwriter Tom Waits, Everything you can think of is true and the high-performance concept car, BMW Vision EfficientDynamics, certainly is fascinating proof of that claim. It boasts an outstanding combination of efficiency and dynamic performance; and its futuristic design offers a glimpse of what efficient but sporty ve hicles might look like in the future. 15 Steffi Zimmermann explains the design philosophy behind the concept car. 16 Fascinating perspective: the interior of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics On the other hand, this example of cutting-edge technology is simply the logical continuation of our BMW Efficient Dynamics development strategy. Some of the technologies used in the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics are already being implemented in current BMW models; others will soon be ready for series production. Or, to put it simply, the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics is a remarkable vision that could very soon become an exciting reality. 16