What happens if BMW engineers take everything about performance and control, strip away production restrictions and let their imagination run wild? You will receive the BMW Vision Driving Experience A Rolling Laboratory, which exceeds the limits of electrical power with more than 13,000 LB-FT to the torque.
Now let us clear this out of the way – the vision vehicle itself not for production. For example, this is not the upcoming electrical M3. Instead, it is a test bed for BMW drive train and driving dynamics technology of the next generation, known as the heart of joy. It is an ambitious name, but BMW makes a courageous claim here: This new high -performance tax unit fundamentally changes the way an electric car drives, feels and reacts. To properly test this BMW, everything threw everything on it; 13.269 LB-FT or torque and even the fans pointed to the floor to literally suck the car onto the sidewalk.
You did not do this because someone needs so much power and performance, but because the system can manage this force with precision, it can easily handle the real world.
And maybe the best thing is that the heart of joy is very real – and there is every class BMW.
BMW recently set this system at the BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina, at the BMW Performance Center, and I had the chance to drive shotgun. Let’s just say … they weren’t exactly gently. But soon more about that. First, let us go into the details of the BMW Vision Driving Experience or VDE if BMW refers to it.
New class: a new chapter with an old obsession
The new class platform from BMW – uses to debut later this year – promises the greatest postponement of the brand since the original new class of the 1960s. While the focus is on electrical, digital and sustainable innovation, BMW ensures that a fourth element remains at its core: driving pleasure.
At the IAA 2023, the BMW CEO Oliver Zipse kept a small black box – the heart of joy – and set it up in the legendary focus of the brand as the next big leap. Frank Weber, BMW Development Manager, suspended it even more bluntly:
“The heart of joy enables us not only to bring driving pleasure to the next level, but another.”
Marketing hype? Perhaps. But what BMW does here is the technical driving character on the calculation level and beaten up, such as an electric BMW using technology, which, what we have seen before, accelerates, brakes and penetrated through a corner.
What does the heart of joy do differently?
It is about speed – not only in a straight line, but in the way the car processes and reacts to driver entrances. The heart of the Joy Control unit processes data ten times faster than current systems, which means immediate adjustments to power supply, brakes and stability. It also combines functions that were previously treated by separate systems – Drivetrain, brakes, energy recovery and steering – a seamless control brain.
The result? The sharper handling, a smoother brake and a driving experience that feels more intuitive and biological than what we expect from EVS.
Brakes without brakes?
One of the more interesting aspects of the heart of joy is how it deals with brakes and energy recovery. In most situations, the car is fully based on regenerative brakes, which means that you will hardly touch the brake pedal when driving every day.
BMW claims that this setup increases efficiency by 25%and at the same time eliminates the usual EV quirks -such as inconsistent pedal feeling or jerky stops. The traditional friction brakes are there, but they are essentially backup singers – only occur if strong braking are required.
BMW even found a way to make this system visually intuitive. The wheels of the test vehicle change the color, depending on what happens:
Green for acceleration
Blue for regenerative braking
Orange when the friction brake collapses
Sure, a small detail, but one that feels tangible.
The brain of the next BMWS
The heart of joy is just one of four new supercomputers that define the new class. Instead of several separate systems that process everything from infotainment to stability control, BMW has transferred everything to four ultra powerful processors, each of which is responsible for a core aspect of the car.
• The heart of joy controls performance, brakes and energy recovery.
• The other three use automated driving, infotainment and base vehicle functions (such as climate control, lighting and comfort systems).
The big thing here? Less delay, more responsiveness and an EV that actually feels like it has been constructed for driving, not just to efficiency.
What does this mean for the future of BMW
The first NEE class production car comes later this year from BMW’s new BMW Werk in Hungary, and it will be the first to show the heart of joy and new digital architecture.
It is clear that BMW’s goal not only builds an electric car – you want to build an electric car that still feels like a BMW. While most brands focus on range and autonomy, BMW is still obsessed with how a car feels when they push it through a corner. Maybe even more than we have seen in recent years.
The real reason here is why this is such a game changer: EVS have the potential to be the most reaction-fast performance machines that have ever been built. In contrast to combustion engines, electric motors can immediately apply a torque and at the same time act as brakes and regenerating energy. This means a precise distribution of performance, several engines that are synchronized, and a more smooth and intuitive driving experience.
With decades of expertise in chassis dynamics and performance management, BMW is uniquely positioned to guide this transition. And at the center of everything is the heart of joy, a processing unit that could be the key to unlock the full potential of electrical performance.
If the heart of joy delivers, we could see the first generation of EVS to really deserve to become ultimate driving machines.
BMW Vision Driving Experience Photo gallery
