The magazine Wallpaper has a fascinating interview with BMW Design boss Adrian Van Hooydonk about the new Megacity program. The article is generally high level but gives us a few tantalizing details we hadn’t heard before. Here’s an excerpt:
Lightness was one of the essential characteristics of the MCV, in order to counter the 100kg added by the battery. Ulich Kranz, Project-I director explains that even this figure doesn’t quite tell the whole story. ‘Or at least it only relates to the passenger cell,’ he notes. ‘The additional weight of a conversion vehicle is closer to 350kg. We managed to compensate this through a combination of lightweight design measures, such as the use of mainly aluminium for the Drive module, while the Life module – the passenger cell – is largely made of carbon fibre composite. In total, we have managed to fully offset the calculated weight premium.’
As we hinted at last month here at BF the US will see its first non-hybrid model with Auto/Stop Start with September production. We had heard several models would see this fuel saving feature this fall but official documents have revealed that the ///M3 will be the introductory model of this new to the US Efficient Dynamics technology.
Auto/Stop start is a feature that can be turned on or off by the driver, the system basically turns the engine off when the car is at a stop idling (while in Neutral) and restarts when the clutch or accelerator is depressed. It has not been taken into account by the EPA for official MPG figures but is said to improve economy in the real world as is evidenced by EU methods.
(The following story was compiled with the help of Herr26 and MotoringFile)
BMW’s small car strategy is key to the automakers future success. Based on-going research BMW is expecting premium segment growth to primarily occur in small city car’s , C-Segment Compact class, the D-Segment Small Sedan class and the small-mid sized SUV class.
Based on this BMW have invested in these three segments more than any other over the last few years. For the small City Cars it will be a three way attack with both the MegaCity vehicle, small BMW and the MINI. The C-segment is the 1er and D-Segment will be the 3er. Since the eruption of the global financial crisis one pattern discovered is that in most cases especially for BMW is that owners were downsizing. That means instead of buying the new 5 Series they’re looking at a 3er and instead of an X5 they’re looking at the X3 etc.
Today BMW has broken ground on the first tangible steps of producing the upcoming Megacity line of vehicles. They expect the first carbon parts to start rolling off the assembly line in about a year’s time culminating with final chassis components in 2013 (in time for the launch of the first Megacity vehicle).
Official Release: SGL Automotive Carbon Fibers – a joint venture of the BMW Group and SGL Group – broke ground today on the new greenfield carbon fiber manufacturing facility in Moses Lake, Washington. More than 70 guests from Moses Lake and Grant County, including the Governor of the State of Washington Chris Gregoire and Moses Lake Mayor Jon Lane were in attendance to celebrate the groundbreaking event.
Many enthusiasts have been complaining that BMW needs to make cars lighter, BMW needs to add a KERS system to performance cars, needs to build a high end sports car to compete with Audi’s R8- well BMW has just redefined mobility by taking a HUGE leap ahead of the competition. BMW has succeeded in building the first volume vehicle to use Carbon Fiber in the passenger cell, if that is not revolutionary we don’t know what is. For a detail by detail account of the MCV please see here. We have covered BMW’s supply chain for Carbon Fiber in relation the MCV here in May, it covers 3 continents and a variety of stops along the way before this amazing passenger cell is even produced.
Note: This press release is a 1:1 copy of the original issued by BMW headquarters in Germany and does not cater to the US market.
Munich. The BMW Group is once again breaking new ground with the Megacity Vehicle (MCV), due to come onto the market in 2013: “The Megacity Vehicle is a revolutionary automobile. It will be the world’s first volume-produced vehicle with a passenger cell made from carbon. Our LifeDrive architecture is helping us to open a new chapter in automotive lightweight design. Indeed, this concept allows us to practically offset the extra 250 to 350 kilograms of weight typically found in electrically powered vehicles.” says Klaus Draeger, Member of the Board of Management for Development.
“The drive system remains the heartbeat of a car, and that also applies to electric vehicles,” said Draeger. “Powertrains also remain a core area of expertise of Bayerische Motoren Werke. Electromobility and the hallmark BMW driving pleasure make an excellent match, if you go about things the right way. For this reason we are developing the powertrain for the Megacity Vehicle in-house – that includes the electric motor, the power electronics and the battery system.”
The electrification of a vehicle requires new concepts in vehicle architecture and body construction in order to exploit the potential of the new emission-free drive system to optimum effect. With the revolutionary LifeDrive concept, the BMW Group engineers are developing the car’s architecture from scratch and adapting it to the demands and conditions of future mobility. The goal: to offset the additional weight of an electric vehicle – typically 250 to 350 kilograms. To this end, the BMW Group is focusing on the innovative high-tech material carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP).
Today BMW released the first official information on the forthcoming Megacity vehicle. The MCV will redefine BMW and the brand it’s carefully cultivated for the past 80 years. Yes it’s that big. The Megacity will be positioned as a sub-brand (unlike MINI) to BMW and will focus on efficiency and the future of mobility. The following is the official press release. We’ll have much more on the car shown and the forthcoming sub-brand.
Official Release: In this day and age we see our society, and with it the sphere of individual mobility, confronted by growing challenges. More and more factors are influencing the implications of individual and corporate action. The world, and with it the sphere of individual mobility, is in a state of environmental, economic and social upheaval. Global developments such as climate change and dwindling resources are encouraging many people to act with greater social responsibility and aspire to a more aware and sustainable lifestyle.
The basic premises for individual mobility are changing.
The advancing greenhouse effect and finite resources have made it a key priority to reduce CO2 emissions significantly and quickly, to drive forward the switch from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources, and to increase the efficiency of all energy consumption. The governments of various countries have recognized this too and are responding with ambitious fleet legislation and the promotion of zero-emission vehicles.
In addition, growing urbanization can be observed across the globe. Half of the world’s population already lives in cities and the numbers are rising daily. Cities are drawing in urban inhabitants like a magnet, resulting in more and more people living together in increasingly confined spaces. Along with the cities, the challenges are growing too: altered infrastructures, lack of space and environmental pollution demand new solutions for mobility.
Challenges for the future.
Mobility for the future requires a new balance between global requirements and individual needs. What is needed are new solutions for personal, and above all sustainable, mobility in urban areas. The BMW Group has recognised these needs and is developing a vehicle that opens up new possibilities in this area and can adapt to evolving customer requirements.
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Sections: Project i Aug 19th, 2010 2 Comments 
