Hot! BMW AG: What's Next

[hovabongZA]

The X2 is shaping up nicely.

 

[domleo999]

@Matski thanks a lot man! Another consistently great post - the forum owes you big time ! it looks really elegant so far, and from my perspective a lot different to 6er it replaces. How long are you in Munich for?

 

[Matski]

The X2 is shaping up nicely.

I had a good look at the concept X2 at the Welt, certainly looks better in the flesh.

@Matski thanks a lot man! Another consistently great post - the forum owes you big time ! it looks really elegant so far, and from my perspective a lot different to 6er it replaces. How long are you in Munich for?

Thanks man, I think the tapered glass house that gives the car rear 'shoulders' is the main thing. The camo still hides a lot though.

Sat at the airport waiting to fly home now, been in Munich since 9am Monday... I've drunk a lot of Hofbrauhaus original, and eaten many metres of sausage... it's been good... visited the Welt and the Museum, obviously the FIZ and BMW Nierderlassung dealership, as well as BMW Lenbachplatz...

... I also managed to get some work done...

 

[domleo999]

@Matski sounds like a pretty epic business trip to me - have another hofbrauhaus for me. Share some pictures of your visit to welt and the museum if you have any spare time!

Also - impressive Z4 shot- looks as if your either hanging from a bridge or extremely tall...

As you got pretty close to the mules In your previous shots, care to comment on the 8ers size?

 

[SCOTT27]

I think you may have an M8 exclusive. Checking plate and it's listed for Garching.

 

[domleo999]

I think you may have an M8 exclusive. Checking plate and it's listed for Garching.

The tailpipes suggest otherwise

 

[Matski]

I think you may have an M8 exclusive. Checking plate and it's listed for Garching.

Interesting, can't say it sounded as good as the M5 though!

 

[Matski]

@Matski sounds like a pretty epic business trip to me - have another hofbrauhaus for me. Share some pictures of your visit to welt and the museum if you have any spare time!

Also - impressive Z4 shot- looks as if your either hanging from a bridge or extremely tall...

As you got pretty close to the mules I'm your previous shots, care to comment on the 8ers size?

I'll post up more info and thoughts from the trip this weekend, gotta get back to the local before he locks up!

 

[Rainer271]

Thanks a lot, Matski.

 

[SCOTT27]

The tailpipes suggest otherwise

If you look back at early M prototypes. One example the X3M and You can see the details are not essential in the early stages?.

 

[SCOTT27]

I had a good look at the concept X2 at the Welt, certainly looks better in the flesh.



Thanks man, I think the tapered glass house that gives the car rear 'shoulders' is the main thing. The camo still hides a lot though.

Sat at the airport waiting to fly home now, been in Munich since 9am Monday... I've drunk a lot of Hofbrauhaus original, and eaten many metres of sausage... it's been good... visited the Welt and the Museum, obviously the FIZ and BMW Nierderlassung dealership, as well as BMW Lenbachplatz...

... I also managed to get some work done...

Interesting aspects about the shoulders is that we have seen it in a former preview of forthcoming design language illustrated by Vision Future Luxury.
Here is an example on how the 8er will appear but with more progressive form. But not just the Sportier models will feature this but be common on other BMWs. As an example look how flat the X2,X3 and X5 prototypes get towards the rear.

There is a key vision for the Coupes, the outline is far sleeker than before and the shoulder line is flatter,sharper but with a steep drop and of course more athleticism within the rear wheel arches so they really stand out and add to the broader appearance of the rear.

And also an important thing to remember is that there will also be a Gran Coupe four door using all these progressive elements.

 

[Giannis]

Martin, think of it like this: there will be conventional UKL & CLAR modular platforms, and then there will be UKL-E & CLAR-E modified platforms for BEVs, as spin-offs from classic UKL / CLAR platforms. The modified "E" platforms will be modular as well - meaning they will be used for eg either for 7er-E or 3er-E or X3-E etc. What's the benefit? Some parts of classic & BE platforms are the same, some are specific. And specific parts are compatible with basic, general parts. Therefore any model, regardless of size or powertrain, can be assembled on the same assembly line.

It's not like the platforms are 100% alike & the same. But they are variable, modular but still compatible enough to share quite some parts and that they can be assembled on the same assembly lines. Meaning, the line that can assemble ICE 7er will also be able to assemble BE 3er.

Such production / assembly will bring huge levels of process optimization & consequently cost reduction. While flexibility levels will be very high.

Completely customised BE platforms dictate specific, separate production / assembly lines, which is costly, rigid and slow. Sure everybody will have modular BE platforms but they will be too specific, not modular enough to be assembled together with ICE- driven / hybrid vehicles.

It's a good idea when executed well. Since flexible production gives you so much more space to react quickly to higher demand for BEVs. While others will be limited by the size of a specific BE assembly line, BMW will be able to use ANY UKL assembly line to assemble any UKL-based BEV, or any CLAR assembly line to assemble any CLAR-based BEV. Huge advantage. They will be able to offer more BEVs from existing production capacities - not needing to expand them, or install different assembly lines. They will just product less ICE cars, and more BEVs - in the same plants, same assembly lines!!!

IMHO that's HUGE advantage! If done right, of course.

There's a fundamental problem with having both an ICE and EV variant of the same car based on the same platform. They are two completely different engineering solutions for the same thing.

Putting an electric drivetrain in a typical ICE chassis is a huge compromise and vice versa.

The main issue is with mass. An ICE drivetrain has two big lumped masses, the engine and the gearbox, while an EV drivetrain has a significant battery mass which can be distributed at the lower part of the chassis, a la model S, which results in a very low CoG and great interior space.

My issue is not with the shape of the car - nothing beats a typical 3-box sedan aerodynamically - but with the mechanics of the damn thing.

Commuting and driving enjoyment are becoming more and more mutually exclusive

Yeap, that's quite true.

And that's the reason why I keep commuting in a 27 year old french hatch, without power assisted steering and clutch, or electric throttle butterfly. It's a blast to drive!

If only it didn't come in contrast to my business image...

And @Matski that is some amazing material. Thanks a lot and if you ever decide to visit the broke European south, beers are on me.

 

[Matski]

And @Matski that is some amazing material. Thanks a lot and if you ever decide to visit the broke European south, beers are on me.

στην υγειά μας..


.. I think.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

Excellent !* (in my hushed Mr. Burns hiss).

Killer proportions.

Very much appreciate the photographs, Matski.

 

[hoffmeister_fan]

@Matski, it seems you are closer to the 8er in the most recently posted pics, can you give a comparison of the size the upcoming 8er relative to the current 6er?

Danke.

 

[Deleted member 1071]

Well, today is a lovely day in Munich, so I thought I'd wonder on up to the FIZ again.. and Je---sus.... Do BMW pay drivers just to drive round the block in test cars, so people can take photo's of them? They are literally more frequent than the buses! I hadn't realised quite how big the area that BMW occupy there is, so I got of the U-bahn at Am hart and wandered down past BMW FIZ to Max-Diamand strasse, then wandered a long there... I then walked up the other side of the site to find the car park we keep seeing spyshots from, which I found. Sadly, there was nothing much of interest there, 6GT's, X3's, variants of G30's, variants of Mini Countyman's, LCI 2-ers. I then killed about an hour or so basically walking around the block a few times

... anyway, there's nothing new or ground breaking about any of that, I'm just stunned at how easy it was see them - I'd envisioned spy photographers sat around for hours in the rain in the hope of seeing a test car go past once - it certainly wasn't the case!

While scrutinizing the 6er GT, I simply cannot escape thinking: " so e schiache Schoaßdromme !". Bavarians will understand.

 

[SKY]

A few days back I have read from several well informed members here the G11 7er is in for an extensive LCI similar to the one the E65 got back in the day.

Do you guys know anything about it? @SCOTT27 @EnI

This would come as a surprisse to me, since I get the impression the G11 is a successfull car from both a design and a sales perspective, contrary to the E65 back in the day.

 

[EnI]

As far as I know the G11 LCI will focus mostly on extensive technical overhaul, to allign the 7er with upcoming 8er & X7 levels of technical advancement in every area. No info on radical styling overhaul in the E65 LCI manner though. Yet?

 

[Rainer271]

Will BMW switch to fully-digital gauge clusters soon?

At the moment, the only BMWs that feature fully, completely digital gauges are the BMW i3and i8. Even the BMW 4 Series LCI, 5 Series and 7 Series, which technically have fully digital displays, use traditional and physical gauge surrounds to create a more traditional setup. This creates fixed digital gauges within the screen, so they aren’t really customizable. But could BMW soon make the switch to fully digital and customizable instrument panels, like Audi and Mercedes-Benz.

Audi’s Virtual Cockpit

BMW’s chief competition seems to be doing it so it makes sense for BMW to soon follow suit. Mercedes-Benz was the first to make the switch, in the S-Class. It actually features two 12″ high-definition screens for its instrument panel and infotainment screen. It looks good but will likely start to age a bit quickly, as it’s already starting to look old-fashioned. Audi’s optional Virtual Cockpit is a masterclass in digital instrument panels, though. Being that the Virtual Cockpit is housed in a traditional gauge housing, it doesn’t look like a tacked-on screen, a la Mercedes. Plus, the graphics are incredibly slick and the screens are completely customizable. There’s even a feature that turns the entire screen into a gigantic Google Maps navigation screen, which looks brilliant.

Right now, BMW’s digital gauges are just that, digital gauges. They aren’t customizable screens that can completely change their display to show various forms of information. However, there is some method to BMW’s madness at the moment. If you look at the original iPhone, it looks like it’s one hundred years old. It seems as old as a Motorola Razr. So digital screens typically don’t age well, as technology advances so quickly that even modern seeming screens will look ancient in only a few years time. So with BMW creating what seems like digital gauges, rather than just a gigantic screen, they might look better over time.

Mercedes-Benz E-Class

On the flip-side, though, BMW’s gauges look dated right now, compared to Audi’s super-slick Virtual Cockpit. While they might age better over time, right now they seem old-fashioned and its competitors seem more high-tech. BMW makes up for this by giving us the best infotainment system and screen in the business. But Audi and Mercedes-Benz aren’t far off. In fact, Audi’s MMI system is right up there with BMW’s iDrive.

So I’m wondering if BMW will soon make the switch from just creating digital gauges to using a fully-customizable screen, like Audi’s Virtual Cockpit.

Source: BMWBlog

 

[Rainer271]

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