BMW’s intention with updated production materials for the cars they’ll be making in the future have been made well and truly clear.

The Bavarian giant is very interested in carbon fiber as the next big thing for production cars. While it was demonstrated for high end supercars and such, there are a few hurdles left.

Hopefully, the new partnership BMW worked over with famous airplane manufacturer Boeing, will make a difference towards that development.

The only somewhat mainstream manufacturer to have a similar collaboration with the aircraft industry giants for carbon fiber is Lamborghini.

Apart from being members of a rival group, the Raging Bull will obviously never specialize in making “Average Joe” vehicles.

Either way, there have been plenty of ideas swapped into the automotive industry from the airplane engineers. Occasionally some ideas did go back.

So maybe a couple of generations down the line the BMW M3 will come with a carbon fiber shell, to say the least, does that mean a new Boeing will be better to drive?

Unfortunately, we can’t tell. What we will be able to tell is what happens when future BMW models will lose considerable amounts of weight thanks to carbon fiber.

Compared to currently used lightweight panels made out of aluminium, up to 30% of the weight will be shaken off by the carbon fiber.

That’s always a welcomed bit of news as everything is better with less weight. One small niggle though, Rolls Royce should never make a car using this material.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW teams up with Boeing for carbon fiber tech appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

While the road towards the development of the BMW i range seems to be a bit rocky, snowed in and bogged down, there is no actual sign of stopping.

Recently, spy photographers have managed to get another set of shots of the BMW i8 being developed and tested in winter conditions.

Interestingly, the prototype still appears to be heavily camouflaged. Has anybody at BMW forgotten that we already know what it looks like?

Whatever the reason behind the camouflaging might be, the new set of images do seem to have a lot of detail visible that wasn’t previously available.

As the textile material usage has been eliminated we get to have a proper look at the aerodynamically flowing shapes they will actually use.

The nearing production i8 seems to retain the somewhat fussy design, as BMW seems to appreciate the efficiency of airflow more than production practicalities.

Underneath, the powertrain seems to have remained pretty much unchanged as BMW’s new 1.5 liter turbocharged three cylinder engine will be paired to an electric motor.

The two should be able to provide drivers with up to 393 horsepower and 406 lb-ft of torque. This is more than enough to power the very light car to some reasonable performance.

Coming in at less than 3.125 pounds, it hits a top speed of around 155 mph even if you accelerate the eco-sports car up to 62 mph in just 4.9 seconds.

This is the level of camouflage that might last a bit of time since it is only next year that we’ll see an official debut, followed by a market release in 2014.

About Post Author

Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW i8 poses in new spyshots appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

In the past BMW have won quite a few awards for various achievements related to their business. Though I’m a big fan of the engine of the year ones, the favorite is else were.

The constant stream of sustainability titles is what I love the Bavarians for. Essentially, they’re not only bringing us joy right now, they will be here for a long time in the future as well.

As recent proof of these constant efforts to stay on top, BMW recently told us about their keeping of original forecasts and predictions in finance.

BMW’s CEO Norbert Reithofer has now stepped forward in order to give us another bit of news about the sustained efforts of the company.

The focus this time is not the money bag, but rather something that’s sapping into the funds. Yes, it’s the electric car they’re advocating under the i brand.

If the BMW i4’s unveiling at the LA Auto Show wasn’t enough of a giveaway, it seems that the Bavarians are willing to spend on this sort of technology.

They know that it’s going to lose money for now, and for quite some time in the near future, so why are they doing it?

Why is a company that’s careful with its money interested in wasting some of it? The simple reason is that it’s not actually a waste.

Over the longer term, the electric vehicle is going to be the profitable way to go. If we’re talking about sustainability, that’s the sort of thinking you need to get on.

About Post Author

Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW CEO confirms efforts on electric car development appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

As much as we love the brand new F30 BMW 3 Series it seems it may not be as brilliant as we like to think because it may end up harming the company.

Well, not really, but statistically at least, the 2012 BMW 3 Series could affect our favorite Bavarian company’s placement mostly because of the strain it would put on the finances.

It’s not like a brand new car that’s as well made as the F30 3 Series comes from nowhere, there was some serious research and development behind it.

R&D is great, it paves the way for progress, something BMW’s entire lineup, though more recently the F30 3 Series is no stranger to, but it does have a major drawback.

R&D costs a lot of money, in fact, in the case of the F30 3 Series it cost so much that it may affect BMW’s lead in the profitability section of the finances.

This situation, coupled with analyst concerns over a slowing down of sales within the luxury segment is a bit of a reason to worry.

That said, it seems like BMW’s spending on the new 3 Series is not much more than that. After all, the result of the spending is visible and the statistics don’t leave much of a mark on the company.

As for the market conditions, if BMW is to take a hit from them so are its major competitors, thus making for an even playing field in which no leader change is expected.

About Post Author

Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post 2012 BMW 3 Series could harm the company appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

Noise canceling technology sounds to a purist like a cap on sound of his beloved engine, but in reality, it is a very important area of development in the automotive industry.

While the noises produced by a vehicle don’t have a direct influence on fuel efficiency, soundtracks are important because they are often a prime determinant in whether a given engine is acceptable to drivers and passengers ears.

Companies the likes of General Motors, Honda and others have been actively pursuing mechanisms destined to control noise right at the source in order to create more flexibility for modifying the powertrains. So far the only successful application of active sound engineering lies within the Chevrolet Equinox’s 2.4 liter engine but the tables may change.

It’s the turn of our beloved Bavarian company BMW to showoff their take on soundtracks of their engines. BMW has been carefully studying the structures of engine blocks and engine bays. Careful application of ribs and tuning of the structural shapes have allowed these structures to be made lighter without risk of excessive vibration.

There’s more, BMW are considering adding insulation materials closer to the engine in order to reduce the amount needed overall as well as facilitating the use of other types of engines that might be inherently noisier. So all in all what this may mean is that you can have a diesel that won’t make that unmistakable clatter at low speed or while idling.

While the noise of an engine may not seem the most important factor in purchasing a new car it is one of the first things that hit you when test driving it so if it doesn’t please you or at least not bother than all the features on the car are pointless.

About Post Author

Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW experimenting with electronic noise canceling technology appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

BMW is the world’s largest luxury automaker, but it may be feeling Audi breathing down it’s neck which is why the Bavarian company announced a massive cost cutting program.

BMW will get some assistance from a partnership with Daimler AG’s, Mercedes-Benz unit, in order to significantly reduce spending on components and suppliers by $5.2 billion by 2012.

Mercedes may be a rival but BMW can’t really afford not to have this pact with the devil as the savings that are to be amounted boggle the mind.

In an interview for Bloomberg Herbert Diess, Director of BMW Motorrad, stated that the talks between BMW and Mercedes-Benz have lead to the creation of new projects over the past several months that will help both companies cut spending by about another 100 million euros a year by 2012.

Efficiency is always a key word within any BMW product and now it will be applied to the brand economy as well, BMW is looking into every cost lowering aspect and they will even be helping component suppliers improve efficiency as well as develop systems, such as start/stop technology, that they may be able to sell to other manufacturers.

It seems that BMW have realized that efficiency cannot be achieved just through high volume of sales and, according to Diess, new projects with Mercedes-Benz will lead to significant savings as well as technical advances.

About Post Author

Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW teams up with Mercedes in order to cut costs appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.