Is This Electric BMW Beast the Future of Driving or Just a Load of Torque?
Image Credit: BMW Group.
I've just seen something that's got me more confused than a politician's tax returns. BMW has built a monster. They're calling it the Vision Driving Experience, or VDX for short. Sounds a bit like a dodgy nightclub, doesn't it? But trust me, this thing is wilder than a badger in a bagpipes factory.
We need to get those ridiculous numbers out of the way. BMW claims 13,269 lb-ft of torque. Aha. Thirteen. Thousand. Two. Hundred. And. Sixty. Nine. Pound-feet. Now, I've driven everything from a milk float to a Bugatti to 3,000 horsepower wild JDM creations. But this, this is something else. Driving this must feel like being strapped to a rocket powered by pure lunacy.
Image Credit: BMW Group.
BMW wouldn't tell me how they arrived at that figure, but I suspect it's some clever trickery with gear ratios and motor multiplication. Still, the sensation must be real. It probably feels like being punched in the chest by a heavyweight boxer made of electricity. And it's not silent, either. In the video released by BMW, the motors whine like a jet engine on a budget airline. It's a glorious symphony of electric fury.
But the clever trick here is the control. This thing apparently handles like it's on rails, even at silly speeds. The secret sauce is something BMW calls "Heart of Joy." Sounds a bit cheesy, but it's actually a clever piece of software that controls everything from acceleration to braking to traction. It's the car's brain, and it's ten times faster than anything BMW has done before. Essentially, it's a Tesla, but with a German accent and a penchant for lederhosen.
Image Credit: BMW Group.
This "Heart of Joy" is part of BMW's new approach to electric cars. They're simplifying the whole system, using fewer computers to control more stuff. They're downsizing the wardrobe to just a couple of favorite pairs of jeans and a few T-shirts. Everything communicates seamlessly, making the car smoother and more efficient.
One of the curious benefits is "variable recuperation." That's a fancy way of saying the car can adjust how much it uses the electric motors to brake. It's all very clever and efficient. They even studied how 100,000 drivers use their brakes to make it even better. That's some dedication to detail!
BMW says this VDX is just a concept, but I reckon it's a sneak peek at the future. It looks suspiciously like the next 3 Series, or i3 as it'll probably be called. And with the first of their new electric cars coming out later this year, it's safe to say this is more than just a pipe dream.
The "Heart of Joy" even shows what it's doing with colored lights on the wheels. Green for acceleration, blue for charging, orange for braking. It's a disco on wheels! They're even claiming the "brakes" will only be needed for emergencies, with the electric motors doing all the hard work the rest of the time. That's good for the planet and good for your wallet. But here's my concern: is it going to be fun?
Image Credit: BMW Group.
BMW's talking about "harmonious and noiseless" driving. Sounds a bit boring… I like a bit of drama in my driving, a bit of noise, a bit of excitement. I'm worried that all this clever technology is going to take the soul out of driving.
But I really hope I'm wrong. Maybe this really is the future, a world of smooth, efficient, and incredibly fast electric cars. Maybe BMW has found the perfect balance between performance and sustainability. And if not? Well, at least we'll have some hilarious torque figures to talk about.
