BMW showcases its new “Heart of Joy” control unit in this new, quad-motor concept known as the Vision Driving Experience.
It is no secret that BMW is in the midst of developing the next-gen 3 Series model based on the radical Neue Klasse concept, where it will feature an all-electric successor to the M3, featuring a quad-motor setup. Before showing us the real deal, the Bavarian marque has decided to test out these four motors and its new “Heart of Joy” control unit in a new concept, known as the BMW Vision Driving Experience.
Corny nomenclature aside, BMW quickly pointed out that the Vision Driving Experience is not destined for production. Instead, it will be used as a test mule to develop the next generation of driving dynamics tech, which includes both the aforementioned quad-motor setup and the control unit.
Thanks to its quad-motor setup, BMW claims the test mule is capable of generating up to 17,990 NM of torque. Given the extravagant figure, we’d reckon that this is likely to be the torque at the wheels rather than the crankshaft, but nonetheless we can expect some serious face-ripping power from this concept.
As for the new control unit, the Heart of Joy will be in charge of the drivetrains, brakes, charging, energy recuperation, and even steering. To make all these things work as seamlessly as possible, BMW claims that this test mule boasts a computing power that is ten times faster than before. As it combines both the drivetrain and braking units under one roof of control, BMW promises that the new tech will bring more sustainability thanks to less reliance on conventional brakes while providing better energy recuperation and efficiency.
Sustainability aside, the Heart of Joy control unit also promises new levels of handling prowess, having all these parameters communicate and be controlled by a single system. Drivers will need fewer driving inputs with “exceptional levels of precision” and much greater levels of traction, while all the ADAS features will combine to assist drivers during low-speed driving. However, all of these sound like the system offers a very high degree of driving assistance, so much so it could potentially rob drivers of having fun with their EVs, but we’ll reserve further comments until we get to experience the thing firsthand.
Despite BMW blabbering on about how the Vision Driving Experience is going for production, we can’t help but think that it looks like the most production-ready version of any Neue Klasse concepts and prototypes previewed prior. Besides adopting the Vision Neue Klasse’s striking design ethos, this test mule gets a more aggressive bodykit featuring wider wheel arches and larger air intakes at the front.
Also making it look near-production are the physical side mirrors it comes with, replacing the digital side-view cameras primed on the Neue Klasse concept. While the large, partially enclosed wheels with illuminated LEDs look fancy, we highly doubt that the actual production model will get this feature.
The Vision Driving Experience also looks less like a design concept on the inside, where it gets a pretty racecar-like setup. Included here are things such as racecar-style bucket seats, a conventional-looking steering wheel, a digital metre cluster that spans the whole front dash, a floating central infotainment screen, tons of buttons on the central console, and many more.