Electrified hybrid M cars could be inevitable says BMW

Andrew115 wrote

How can it be that bad. If electric motors can eliminate turbo lag and add more power without l much weight I say go for it.

Battery pack replacement costs for one...although given most lease these things, that may not be a concern for the majority of BMW drivers. Those that buy and hold on to them though is another story........

NOITALL wrote

LOL, as if a tesla was faster than a current M...

In a stoplight drag, the Tesla P85D Ludicrous speed optioned car would smoke any M car. 0-60 in 2.8secs. Look it up.

This isn't new news, they said this several months ago, if not a full year ago. PHEV M Cars will happen, they will have instant torque and they will be awesome.

SoCalDave wrote

Battery pack replacement costs for one...although given most lease these things, that may not be a concern for the majority of BMW drivers. Those that buy and hold on to them though is another story........

You should look up some stats on current PHEV's and EV's, the battery packs are good now (don't look at early leaf's). BMW only allows the middle 80% to be used, this maximizes the life of the pack. If your laptop and mobile phone would not allow you to charge above 90% and would shut off at 10% they would last much longer too. But then people would be less likely to get a new phone every 2 years and a new laptop every 3-4 years. BMW also warrants the pack past the standard warranty period, or they do for the i3 anyway, 8 years. I plan to sell my i3 in year 7 to give the new owner a year of peace of mind. I'm checking it every 5k so I'll have a very complete history on its capacity. There are plenty of Volt and later Leaf drivers with hundreds of thousands of miles on them (some taxi's) that have had little (Leaf's) to no (Volt's) degradation in battery capacity. Pretty awesome.

EDIT: Also, as battery tech changes, older tech gets cheaper. So one might not find replacing the battery on a PHEV/EV as expensive as one might think in the very far future, if just swapping for the same pack. That and/or the ability to upgrade to a more efficient and/or more dense, higher capacity, pack might even be an advantage, more all electric range and/or more overall efficiency when using with fuel.

I blame mAngela Yerkl

Kwando wrote  

Will they also pipe an artificial electric buzz into the cabin when it's in EV mode?

They will refer to it as a hum though.

nicknaz wrote  

danniexi wrote

That's the main challenge. I'm not sure if BMW will implement hybrid technology in the next generation M3, but maybe the one after that. With BMWs CLAR platform (in the upcoming G30 or whatever 3er), we can see a good amount of weight savings. The more CFRP in the unibody the better.

Honestly, an M3 with 3400lbs or less with an NA I-6 with batteries would be totally awesome... all of the benefits of an NA engine (excellent throttle response + engine sound) along with the benefits of turbo technology (low down + mid range flat torque curve) AND better fuel efficiency? sign me up.

Im not a retro grouch by any means but i would rather that hypothetical 3400lb with batteries car be a 3000lb without batteries car. And why go back to Na 3.0L? Keep the s55. 420whp and 3000lb. Thats more like it!

Keep the batteries in i division but keep bringing over the lightweight tech please.

You don't want technology from the P1, LaF, and 918 in our simpleton M cars? You crazy.

To your point, as long as it is an S engine with hybrid assist rather than the i8 formula, which is completely backwards, hybrid with engine assist.

Twixboy wrote  

SYT_Shadow wrote

I certainly hope not. If 4700lb monsters are what BMW will build I will stop buying them

P90D S is not the car of an enthusiast. It has 'insane' straightline acceleration which is cool for drag races, yet completely different than what a car enthusiast is looking for which is a good driving experience

The M5 and M6 are not that far behind. Tesla wasn't necessarily trying to reduce weight like BMW will do with the new M. I think BMW can make it work if they forgo some of the luxury/safety features that come on the Model S.

FilipMPower wrote

Having large HP and torque for the straights is half the fun, and frankly, the easy thing to do. I'm waiting for a Tesla to handle like an M5. And the M5 could easily have the power that the Tesla has.

Completely agree with this, but I was talking about the motor. Tesla has already proven you can make a lightning fast environmentally friendly sedan, now BMW just needs to slap that technology onto a better chassis and suspension.

NOITALL wrote

LOL, as if a tesla was faster than a current M...

You realize the top end Model S goes 0-60 in 2.8 seconds right?

Who cares about 0-60. What can it do on the autobahn? That's where it's slow.

Twixboy wrote

So in other words, today's Tesla P85D is the BMW M of the future? Get with the times BMW.

Again, PLEASE READ the article before commenting.

M3 Number 86 wrote

Who cares about 0-60. What can it do on the autobahn? That's where it's slow.

This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. How often do we drive on the autobahn? I rarely drive over 50mph because of all the traffic we have in US cities. If I wanted a fast car I'd just buy a Corvette.

Is faster the only focus of future M cars? We don't essentially need faster. Sometimes we just have to pause and focus on the experience. Like putting a V12 on a golf cart Lolol

The irony of this story is that just a few years ago, BMW was adamant that the i8 and M were very different and distinct perspectives. Now it appears as though the i8 is basically the test bed for the next BMW high performance hybrids.

BigMacMeal wrote

Again, PLEASE READ the article before commenting.

How about you take your own advice before repeating what someone else already said on the first page

God bless the S65 V8!! I'll keep it for ever!!

MightyMouseTech wrote  

Ultimate Driving MACHINE, not Ultimate Driving Software.

Let people drive electric cars so we can save gas to drive our V8, V10, V12 monsters on the weekend

M3 Number 86 wrote

You don't want technology from the P1, LaF, and 918 in our simpleton M cars? You crazy.

You put a V8-V12 with hybrid assist in a M car and we'll talk!

Twixboy wrote

You realize the top end Model S goes 0-60 in 2.8 seconds right?

The speed of the tesla is subjective. Yea sure its faster to 60, but the M5 is faster on the autobahn, and faster around the corners.

Twixboy wrote

How about you take your own advice before repeating what someone else already said on the first page

He said "again"..........

I'm gonna enjoy driving home in the e46 tonight that much more.

2.2L or 2.3L electric turbo and battery would be sweet...the problem is the weight of the battery. We need BMW to build the car with more CFRP ala i8 and we should be good. The problem with the sound will still exist though , but I'm accepting the fact that cars from now on won't sound as good as before.

Twixboy wrote

This is the stupidest thing I've ever heard. How often do we drive on the autobahn? I rarely drive over 50mph because of all the traffic we have in US cities. If I wanted a fast car I'd just buy a Corvette.

it's not fast just because it does a 0-60 well. that's the stupidest thing i've ever heard and that's why the stupid people fall for it. LOL.

it still dies after a 1/4 mile. I guess you live one stop light at a time. pathetic.

btw how old are you? are you like a 50 year old child?!

ShocknAwe wrote

You put a V8-V12 with hybrid assist in a M car and we'll talk!

like I posted above as long as it's (a) engine supplemented by electric assist vs (b) electric supplemented by lawnmower motor I'd be all in.

I'm hoping the first is the case then I would keep my e90, skip the f80, and get that nice ass hybrid. that would be pretty dope. By then should have the carbon body as well.

just dropped wife's car at bmw collision and saw an i8 there that had some front end damage. didn't look like a huge job but it was over $27k