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BMW’s Megacity Vehicle to launch in 2013

Munich, July 5, 2010

German automaker BMW will launch its Megacity Vehicle (MCV), the world’s first volume-produced car with a passenger cell from carbon, in 2013.

“The Megacity Vehicle is a revolutionary automobile,” said Klaus Draeger, member of the board of management for development.

“Our LifeDrive architecture is helping us to open a new chapter in automotive lightweight design. Indeed, this concept allows us to practically offset the extra 250 to 350 kilograms of weight typically found in electrically powered vehicles.”

“The drive system remains the heartbeat of a car, and that also applies to electric vehicles,” added Draeger.

“Powertrains also remain a core area of expertise of Bayerische Motoren Werke. Electromobility and the hallmark BMW driving pleasure make an excellent match, if you go about things the right way.”

“For this reason we are developing the powertrain for the Megacity Vehicle in-house – that includes the electric motor, the power electronics and the battery system,” Draeger explained.

The electrification of a vehicle requires new concepts in vehicle architecture and body construction in order to exploit the potential of the new emission-free drive system to optimum effect, a statement said.

With the revolutionary LifeDrive concept, the BMW Group engineers are developing the car’s architecture from scratch and adapting it to the demands and conditions of future mobility.

The LifeDrive concept consists of two horizontally separated, independent modules. The Drive module integrates the battery, drive system and structural and crash functions into a single construction within the chassis.

Its partner, the Life module, consists primarily of a high-strength and extremely lightweight passenger cell made from carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). The new vehicle architecture opens the door to totally new production processes which are both simpler and more flexible, and use less energy, the statement said.

The new architecture of the MCV also gives the vehicle designers additional freedom when it comes to creating a new aesthetic for sustainable urban mobility solutions, it added. – TradeArabia News Service




Tags: BMW | Munich | MCV | Megacity Vehicle | Carbon fibre |

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