BMW says that its latest EV, the XM, is in the final stages of its driving dynamics test program. Just a few months after the concept car was presented, an intensive test program is reportedly finding that prototypes of the production model are demonstrating a high level of maturity in their drive and suspension technology.
“With the debut of the BMW XM at the end of our anniversary year, we are looking into the future, where BMW M will continue to break with conventions and push boundaries,” said Franciscus van Meel, chairman of the board of management at BMW M. “Electrification gives us new opportunities to demonstrate that unmistakable M feeling in a fascinating way and transfer it to the road. Regardless of their drive technology, our performance and high-performance cars will continue to possess an unmistakable and authentic M character in the future.”
For test drives on public roads, BMW’s development and test engineers established a demanding and varied route profile. This allowed for the interaction between the V8 engine and hybrid to be tested and refined in detail under a wide range of conditions: from intermediate sprints on the motorway to winding country roads and stop-and-go traffic in the city. Steep mountain passages and narrow serpentines offered the ideal terrain to assess the driving dynamics potential of the M xDrive system, including the electronically controlled differential lock in the rear axle transmission.
With a target to achieve the optimum balance between performance and ride comfort, BMW’s developers aboard the pre-production model recorded how the suspension systems reacted to ruts, bumps and dirty stretches of road and how confidently sudden changes of direction, spontaneous lane changes and long downhill stretches with high deceleration requirements were mastered.