The German car buyer demands the highest technology in their purchases, particularly luxury cars. The current S-class Mercedes displays that requirement very well. Mercedes' downfall in quality in the past years also displays what happens when the technology isn't reliable. Mercedes chooses to show the high technology in places that the customer touches and feels when he drives. BMW, on the other hand, often puts the technology in places that aren't visible or necessarily "feelable".
Today's BMW six-cylinder engine with its partly magnesium block and no throttle body is without question the highest technology engine in a production car in the world today. Period. BMW claimed that building the engine without the throttle body contributed to better fuel economy and the magnesium in the block was a requirement to keep the engine light enough for their 50-50 weight distribution, and consequently good handling. Okay, but what is in the future?
BMW's Board of Management member, who is Head of Development and Purchasing, Burkhard Göschel, recently discussed the company's technology directions in the next decade.
The company will be a late arrival in the hybrid market, but Göschel recognizes that they make technical sense to capture the kinetic energy lost during braking. He also points out that the electric power in the hybrid system's batteries makes sense to provide for the electronics in the car, plus the system has carbon dioxide reduction benefits.
BMW is in a cooperative effort with GM and DamilerChrysler to develop hybrid propulsion systems which will be delivered to the customer in the 2009-2010 time frame. The three manufacturers are developing their own versions of the Allison "dual-mode" transmission according to different timetables.
Diesels will play a big part in BMW's engine compartments in the future. The company sells nearly 80% of their vehicles in some parts of Europe powered by diesel engines. And it is planning diesel vehicles for the U.S. market too.
To meet the 2007 EPA Tier 2 emission standards, with their ultra-stringent nitrogen oxide regulations, BWM "will use an aftermarket system similar to the one announced by Mercedes" which is selective catalytic reduction using a urea-based additive for nitrogen oxide elimination.
BMW is doing a lot of research into lean-burn gasoline engines. The advantages of lean-burn combustion are coming in BMW gasoline engines in a big way. According to Göschel, all of the company's gasoline engines will be fitted with direct fuel injection as standard equipment.
Equipped with high-pressure, spray-guided, piezo-type injectors and, in many versions, turbocharging, the next-generation BMW "GDI" engines will burn very lean. Göschel said that the new GDI engines will operate in lean-burn-combustion mode at a wide range of speed and load. Because of their lean operations, they will likely require extra treatment for nitrogen oxides to meet tighter emissions regulations.
"Our engines in development are showing fuel consumption similar to a direct injection diesel," he said. They are also showing very impressive power outputs.
On the other hand, Göschel is not very bullish on variable-compression-ratio engine systems because they require a high degree of mechanical actuation and as a result are "very difficult and expensive to do. I think we should forget it," he said. Not said there is that the mechanical complexity would also be heavy on the front wheels. Neither is he enamored with mechanical superchargers as a solution for boosting engine torque -- "not as fuel efficient and effective as twin turbos," he said.
BMW has been a pioneer in hydrogen fuel research and development, experimenting with it to power internal-combustion engines as well as small fuel cell systems intended as onboard auxiliary power units.
According to Göschel, another hydrogen-powered 7-series sedan "will appear within the next two years, but that's not production; we will only show it to the public, " he said.
Regarding the industry's interest in vehicle weight reduction, Göschel concluded that "it is a hard fight." BMW will continue to make a multi-material approach using a mix of steels, light metals, and composites. The current BMW M6 uses a carbon composite top.
Göschel was asked if he had the benefit of 20/20 hindsight, if BMW would have done the controversial iDrive electronic control system differently. He said, "iDrive will evolve as a technology. Some things about the system we have to improve, but customers want the basic concept of a single control function for the vehicle's electronics that were previously controlled by many buttons and switches." I wonder if that applies to German customers or American customers.
BMW will continue to break new technical ground in the future, Göschel asserted. But the one thing that will not change is the inline six-cylinder engine. "It is a part of our history."
On a non-production subject, BMW's Motorsport Director, Mario Theissen, made some interesting comments about the BMW Formula 1 team's new V-8 engine. This is the first year for the new V-8s, the previous years engines were all V-10s. A lot of computer modeling was used by all the Formula 1 entrants, but one thing that the computer doesn't do a good job of predicting is engine vibration.
V-10 engines are inherently not balanced, a 90-degree V-8 is. But still there are vibrations. While the V-10 engines also had vibration issues, they occurred in a less critical area of the rev range, said Theissen. "The V-10 entered a critical area between 12,000 rpm and 14,000 rpm. This was not an issue because the engine did not spend much time in this rev band." They spent most of their time revving higher than that!
But the new V-8 engine's vibrations fall in a more critical range -- right where the driver's need engine power. "Its vibration level enters critical territory at higher speeds compared to the V-10 -- at approximately 16,000 rpm -- and continues to climb from there," Theissen said. Before, it was possible to avoid the problem, but now it must be addressed directly. "In order to get on top of this problem, the calculation and analysis of each individual engine component has to be totally reliable," he said.
Holy cats. Remember that even a road engine from Honda is redlined at 8000 rpm. A current V-8 Formula 1 engine is redlined at something like three times that! That is amazing.
