Hot! BMW AG: What's Next

[Matski]

Do you play chess?

Nah, I'm more of a Hungry Hippo's kinda guy... so you'll really need to spell at the sequence of events you foresee unfolding.

 

[dalab]

No sé por qué no aparecen los hilos de la serie 2, ninguno, en cualquier caso esto también es nuevo, los mods son libres de cambiarlo a un hilo específico

Nuevo M2

 

[Sunny]

This is still RWD right? And no rodent incisors for grill?

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

This is still RWD right?

yup

And no rodent incisors for grill?

Per spy pic thread, not likely. More horizontally wider than incisor-like. Headlight and taillights look terrible though.

 

[PanterroR]

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BMW plans to power thousands of SUVs and sedans in the 2020s with their electric technology. But the BMW i division recently collaborated with Peter Salzmann, an Austrian stuntman, for something else. Together they have created a battery-powered wingsuit. This electric BMW jetpack can propel a person at the highest speed of 186mph.

With this electric jetpack, 33 years old Salzmann flew above the Austrian Alps. It took him around 3 years to get it working. A wingsuit is not unheard of, but the powering unit was developed from scratch. The electric BMW jetpack is compact, lightweight, power-dense, and reliable. It is powered by a 50-volt lithium battery.

The battery unit is built around 2 carbon fiber propellers spinning at 25,000 rpm. It can generate 15 kW, which is almost the same as 20 horsepower. Carbon fiber and aluminum were used for the casing to keep the device lightweight at 26 pounds.


BMW engineers worked on the drive unit and Salzmann worked on the suit. It resembles a racing suit. Fabric resembling the skin membranes of flying squirrels was used to make the person wearing it glide through the air. The wingsuit with the electric pack was tested in the same BMW tunnel that is used to make its cars aerodynamic. When it came to testing the final product in the real world, everyone was nervous yet excited to go over the Austrian Alps.

Salzmann flew out in a helicopter and jumped out at 10,000 feet. He chose to glide for a while before he switched on the device. With Superman-like poses, Salzmann flew in the electric BMW jetpack before dispatching the parachute for a smooth landing.

The live test was a success. But don’t expect to see this electric device in BMW showrooms just yet. According to sources, the company does not plan on mass production just yet. Salzmann will continue working on the jetpack and the wingsuit. If BMW does not pick it up commercially, maybe some other company will!

Source: https://truththeory.com/electric-bmw-jetpack-flying-at-186-mph-tested-over-the-austrian-alps/

 

[klier]

This is still RWD right? And no rodent incisors for grill?

This is going to be the spiritual successor to the old M3s and 1M, in shape, size and hopefully character also. At least, let's hope so. I am very much looking forward to this car! Still something exciting and semi 'old school'.

 

[Matski]

BMW and Schnitzer to end all works collaborations...

Herbert Schnitzer jun. (Team Principal BMW Team Schnitzer): “We very much regret that, given the changes in motorsport, it is no longer possible to continue the cooperation with BMW Motorsport. However, we obviously understand and respect the decision. We are proud that we Schnitzers have, together with BMW, shaped international motorsport for so many decades. It is a pleasure to look back on all the big successes we have enjoyed together in such a wide range of categories. We are also very proud to be a part of motorsport history at BMW. We would like to thank BMW Motorsport for this long, unique partnership. BMW was our life and our passion.”

BMW and RBM to end all works collaborations...

Bart Mampaey (Team Principal BMW Team RBM): “It is a great shame, but we respect the fact that BMW Motorsport is unable to continue the collaboration with us as a works team. I would like to thank BMW for the fantastic partnership, which we have enjoyed for 25 long years. BMW has always been at our side, from the very beginning to the final curtain in the DTM, and our relationship will remain a strong one, even if we are no longer a works team. Times are changing and we are all facing a challenging future. At RBM, we will initially reduce our racing activities. However, that does not mean this is the end of our motorsport chapter. We want to continue in motor racing and see what options arise. I also think that we can apply the values and skills that we have at RBM in other industries outside motorsport. They always say: when one door closes, another one opens. So I am very excited to see what opportunities come our way in the future.”

RMG get's all the development and backing...

Stefan Reinhold (Team Principal BMW Team RMG): “We are very much looking forward to our new role as development team for the BMW M4 GT3, and thank BMW Motorsport for the faith it has placed in us. The BMW M4 GT3 is the new flagship of BMW Motorsport, and we will do our bit to make it another successful BMW. For us as racers and technicians, it is very exciting to be closely involved in the development of a race car. We will now apply all our know-how and skills to this project.”

.. and let's not forget the question marks around the future of BMW Team RLL in the USA, and BMWi Andretti ending at the end of 2021...

With Marquardt exiting, and a replacement yet to be confirmed, and many well established ties being severed, one has to wonder what's going on.

 

[klier]

This thread needs to be stacked at the top @Matski

Anyways....nice markup here:

 

[klier]

With Marquardt exiting, and a replacement yet to be confirmed, and many well established ties being severed, one has to wonder what's going on.

They're moving on to creating autonomous driving living rooms. Racing has no place in that strategy.

 

[Matski]

Nothing but a sketch I found from BMW Design works... posted purely for interest.

 

[SKY]

Way better than what the company is currently doing...

 

[Deleted member 1071]

Way better than what the company is currently doing...

I await the day when a newly introduced BMW model can swoon me. It's been so long, it seems. But I'm not giving up.

 

[SKY]

I await the day when a newly introduced BMW model can swoon me. It's been so long, it seems. But I'm not giving up.

The current potfolio has some interesting models, like the 1er, 3er, 5er, 7er, X5 and X7. But there is a lot of crap there also, like the 2er GC, the X4, X6... And now the 4er as well.

The problem with BMW design is that it does not innovate at all, nor successfully sticks to the core design themes of the brand anymore. The Bangle cars did lead the industry design, leaving a bit aside some of the key aspects of BMW design. Cars like the Z4 or the E60 5er are still quite fresh to the eye and look great with the right spec. The first Van Hooydonk cars (F01 7er, F10 5er and F12 6er) looked spectacular. They returned to the most recognisable BMW design elements while making them fresh again.

The most recent designs, and what seems to be coming, simply embrace every design trend out there introduced by other manufacturers: huge grilles, exagonal shaped kidneys, angel eyes made up with straight lines, rear lights linked with a horizontal LED bar, and now splitted front lights.

If I were in charge of BMW's design department, I would rather look at the CS Concept than to the VFL. I would try to make the EVs coming in 2025 look more like 4dr coupes (not fastbacks like the 4er GC), give them sharp side profiles with pointy hoff kinks, a well defined character line, headlights with angel eyes and not linked to the grille horizontal and wing shaped kidneys... The interior should also return to the shapes used by the CS instead of the horrid horizontal screen with no buttons of the iX.

Don't see any of that happening though.

 

[klier]

I await the day when a newly introduced BMW model can swoon me. It's been so long, it seems. But I'm not giving up.

Maybe this helps:



Adding a f'ing V10 sound to the M2 CS to make it look better? Does that help?

 

[Deleted member 1071]

Maybe this helps:

The current 2 series coupe/cab brings out that old-school BMW affinity in me. Its' G42 successor looks promising.

 

[SKY]

Damn, I totally forgot mentioning the M2. What a magnificent car...

 

[dalab]

The interior should also return to the shapes used by the CS

Well, they used it in the Z4 in general lines.
One of the most beautiful interiors of the brand and it hurts not to use it in other models

 

[SCOTT27]

AutoBild are on to the X2. Normally I would say something itis? But let’s stay in the present and call it 4-viX 20.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

Dougs' mode of expression may annoy some folks...but...he really echoes a great amount of sentiment:

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BMW, quo vadis ? Currently, they appear to be just barely keeping on top of a massive maelstrom in a sea of hostile bile.

 

[tristatez28lt1]

First time I'm agreeing with this dude.