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BMW with new "technology flagship" - with this bull, Bayern want to scare Tesla 

2020-11-16T02:13:32.317Z


The Munich car manufacturer BMW is serious about its e-car offensive. Bayern celebrated the premiere of the iX on Wednesday. The SUV-Stromer weighs 2.5 tons - and is a challenge to the competition.


The Munich car manufacturer BMW is serious about its e-car offensive.

Bayern celebrated the premiere of the iX on Wednesday.

The SUV-Stromer weighs 2.5 tons - and is a challenge to the competition.

  • BMW

    is expanding its e-fleet at full speed.

  • Starting in 2021, the Bavarians want to

    massively increase the pressure on the competition

    with the new

    iX

    .

  • With an estimated

    list price

    of 95,000 euros, the joy of driving will probably be something for the well-heeled.

Munich - Two years after the presentation of the iNext concept vehicle,

BMW

*

has

now presented the fully electric luxury SUV for the first time as it should be at dealerships in November next year.

The company's new “technology flagship” is called

iX

and, in the words of CEO

Oliver Zipse

*, “

ushers in

a new era at

BMW

”.

The premiere on Wednesday took place online.

The iX is "the first premium vehicle to be equipped with the 5G cellular standard" and can transmit 30 gigabits of data per second.

However, the driver cannot read the newspaper while driving: if he lets go of the steering wheel, he has to keep looking at the road.

BMW

postponed the

original goal of allowing the car to drive autonomously according to the Level 3 standard

for a few years.

Because the lidar sensors installed today cannot look far enough ahead to drive completely independently and safely on the motorway.

At first glance, the iX resembles the

X5

.

Length and width are identical.

Behind the huge kidney at the front are the sensors, steering and the electric motor for the front axle.

It is no longer possible to look under the hood, it is screwed tight.

Headlights and rear lights are extremely narrow.

The steering wheel is square.

"If the vehicle drives by itself and asks the driver to take over the wheel again, he can see the steering better," explained

Franciscus van Meel

, Head of the

Rolls-Royce

* and

BMW

Luxury Class

product line

.

Finally!



The first-ever BMW iX, introduced by Adrian van Hooydonk, Head of BMW Group Design.


Watch the full unveil at https://t.co/mWBd6bghsk.#THEiX #NEXTGen pic.twitter.com/MJXXCEMrRw

- BMW (@BMW) November 11, 2020

BMW iX: More living space than a car?

Where the dashboard used to be, a wide display stands freely on the window sill of the windshield.

The car becomes a living space, for example if it is stuck in traffic for hours, said Zipse.

"We were more inspired by a living space than by automobile construction," explained

BMW

chief designer

Adrian van Hooydonk

.

“We thought the car from the inside out.” The technology in the iX takes a back seat, operation is becoming easier.

The up to 30 speakers are invisible.

When the driver says: “I'm cold”, heated surfaces heat up.

The price is on the level of a combustion engine with a comparable engine, it said.

With 500 PS that would be around 95,000 euros.

“We don't build a car that isn't profitable,” said Zipse.

The market segment is very interesting, said industry

expert Stefan Bratzel

.

“I expect

BMW to be able to

attack.” So far, the

Audi e-tron

and the

Tesla Model X

have been the top dogs in the luxury-class electric SUVs

- the

Mercedes EQC

and the

Jaguar i-Pace

have a hard time.

But it will be exciting to see whether Mercedes will be able to bring a level 3-capable production vehicle onto the road next year, said Bratzel.

BMW iX: 600 kilometers range and less air resistance than a sports car

BMW

wants to score points over the competition

with its low consumption and electric range - the iX sets standards with a power consumption of less than 21 kilowatt hours per 100 kilometers and a range of more than 600 kilometers according to the WLTP standard.

With a drag coefficient of 0.25, the large SUV even has less air resistance than the BMW i8 and many other sports cars.

+

BMW iX: Cool understatement in the interior and a huge free-floating display.

© BMW

BMW iX: 2.5 tons weight

At two and a half tons, it is the heaviest

BMW

ever, despite the aluminum and carbon in the body.

In the group, only the

Rolls-Royce

weighs

more.

“But the aerodynamics of the electric car are more important than the weight,” said van Meel.

Important details for the low air resistance are the wheels, the sloping roof line and the narrow foot of the exterior mirrors, explained van Hooydonk.

With a charging time of 40 minutes at a fast charging station, the iX is within the normal range.

It takes 11 hours at a normal charging station.

The electric SUV will also be available with a trailer coupling for caravans, said the Dutchman van Meel.

BMW: New development concept

The iX was developed in Munich using computer game technology and simulators like those used in aviation.

During “test drives with a car that doesn't even have a prototype”, “designers and developers were able to experience the vehicle with virtual reality just like the driver later,” said

Michael Bartvogel

, Head of

BMW

Driving Simulation.

Cobblestones, full throttle, emergency braking, every movement is translated by the simulator, which moves a mass of 84 tons.

“We had highly dynamic cornering that made occupants feel bad in the simulator.”

BMW

dealers and “typical customers from the segment, including drivers of competitor vehicles”, drove in the simulator for the developers and gave suggestions.

+

iX in X5 format: the new SUV electric car should travel 600 kilometers on one charge.

© BMW AG

The iX is

the third fully electric

BMW

after the small

i3

and the SUV

iX3

and is to be built in Dingolfing from summer 2021.

Zipse sees no competition in it for the X5 with diesel, gasoline or hybrid drive: “The iX is not supposed to replace the X5.” The market segment is large, “there is a lot of space.

I don't think they can cannibalize themselves. ”

(Dpa) * Merkur.de is part of the nationwide Ippen digital editorial network.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2020-11-16

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