Munich. On its way to series maturity, the BMW iNEXT
is completing a further chapter of its overall vehicle testing under
particularly demanding conditions. Intensive test runs in the freezing
cold at the polar circle are now being followed by a contrasting
program in the Kalahari in Southern Africa, where in addition to
extreme heat and solar radiation, permanent dust formation and
off-road terrain with its sand, pebble and gravel tracks pose
exceptional challenges for the BMW Group’s technology flagship. In
this literally hot phase of the series development process, not only
do the drive and suspension components of the BMW iNEXT, a car
designed for all-electric mobility, provide proof of their functional
safety, durability and reliability, but
also the car’s bodywork, interior, driver assistance systems and
digitalisation technology.
The so-called hot climate tests are an integral part of a both
extensive and varied development and test program within the framework
of the series maturity process, which entails BMW iNEXT prototypes
being subjected virtually in time lapse to the stress of an entire
vehicle service life. Like every new BMW model, the vehicle’s way to
serial maturity leads to the BMW Group proving ground at Miramas in
Southern France, the Nürburgring Nordschleife and other racetracks and
to the Winter Center in Arjeplog, Sweden, as well as to desert regions
with an extremely high level of heat and dryness.
Ice track, racetrack, desert passage: A variety of tests
ensures long-term driving pleasure.
With high-speed operation, in stop go traffic, extreme
temperatures below and above zero, testing on ice and snow as well as
desert sand and gravel, the pre-series vehicles master in a
concentrated form all of the challenges an automobile may face in
everyday traffic over a period of many years. In the process,
experienced designers and efficient onboard measuring technology
record the vehicle’s reactions to various weather and road surface
conditions as well as other influences. This ensures that the
characteristic BMW driving pleasure experienced in future production
models is not impaired in any way by exceptional circumstances.
Production of the series version of the BMW iNEXT will commence at the
BMW Dingolfing plant in 2021. Designed as a modern Sports Activity
Vehicle, the new model combines the latest innovations defined by the
BMW Group in its corporate NUMBER ONE NEXT strategy for the
future fields D-ACES (Design, Autonomous, Connected, Electrified und
Services). Featuring fifth-generation BMW eDrive technology, the
BMW iNEXT sets new benchmarks in sportiness, efficiency and range in a
battery-powered automobile. The car’s suspension control and driver
assistance systems pave the way for a further step towards autonomous
driving. And current innovations in the field of operation and
digitalisation also underscore the future-oriented character of the
BMW iNEXT.
The BMW iNEXT masters extreme stress from heat, sunlight and dust.
The test drives through the desert and Savanna regions in the North
West of South Africa offer development engineers the ideal
prerequisites for testing and harmonising all drive and suspension
components under extreme conditions. Surfaces alternating between sand
dunes, gravel tracks and off-road passages pose an exceptional
challenge even to the intelligent four-wheel drive system of the BMW
iNEXT. In temperatures that would drain any mobile phone battery in no
time at all, the integrated cooling concept for the high-voltage
battery, the electric motor and the vehicle electronics of the BMW
iNEXT stands the test. Moreover, the interior air conditioning, which
operates by means of thermal pump technology, its control system and
all further components of the vehicle electronics are subjected to the
extreme conditions of the desert climate in order to prove their
series maturity.
During extensive heat tests, the vehicle is repeatedly exposed to the
heat of the sun for hours and later cooled down. In this way, the
developers test not only the operability of the electrical systems,
but also the temperature stability of the materials used in the
interior, because the test engineers do not accept any creaking or
crackling noises even in the event of sudden and intense temperature
fluctuations. Furthermore, the Kalahari offers the ideal conditions
for testing the dust-tightness of flaps, doors and bonnets. During
test drives over thousands of kilometres on unpaved roads, through
dune landscapes and across sandy scrublands, the BMW iNEXT is stirring
up a lot of dust but without letting any of it get inside.