BMW 3 Series EV Unveiled : BMW is the first of them and recently presented the project of the Vision Driving Experience. The car manufacturer wants to show a few of the intelligent systems that will make it to the production-spec, electric 3 Series Neue Klasse that is expected to be called the i3. The Vision Driving Experience is not a production car per se, but BMW 7MD claims that technologies it introduces will ensure that the carmaker’s renowned driving dynamics abilities are preserved. BMW describes the Vision Driving Experience as a
“rolling test rig for drivetrain and driving dynamics management technology.” The implementation that is most interesting and most important for the brand’s future engineering is the electronic control unit known as the Heart of Joy. It controls most driving functions, including the drivetrain, braking, charging, regeneration, and steering. The Heart of Joy, which operates in tandem with BMW’s own Dynamic Performance Control software, works ten times faster than the company’s old ECUs and supposedly has a
latency countable in milliseconds. The Heart of Joy is one of the four central units “nods” of the central unit in the concept’s electronics architecture and is unique in two ways. First, because it unites drivetrain and driving dynamics functions.. Integrated braking and energy recuperation control mean that the friction brakes are only used in certain situations, making up to a 25 percent efficiency improvement. And it was claimed to be almost unnoticeable: whether the car is operating in a particular drive mode, using active cruise control, or autohold.
The Heart of Joy will be standard in every electric Neue Klasse model, according to BMW, and it will contribute to higher efficiency, range, and a more enjoyable driving experience. In addition to the Heart of Joy, future electric BMWs will feature three core “superbrain” systems that will manage automated driving functions, climate control, vehicle access, and interior and exterior lighting.
(According to BMW, the Vision Driving Experience concept is a “rolling test rig for drivetrain and driving dynamics management technology.) At the heart of all the new systems is an electronic control unit called the “Heart of Joy,” which manages vital vehicle functions such as the drivetrain, braking, charging, regeneration and steering. In tandem with BMW’s Dynamic Performance Control software, the Heart of Joy can work on data 10 times faster than the brand’s previous ECUs, with latencies claimed to be in the milliseconds.
The Heart of Joy is the name of one of the four central units of the concept’s electronics architecture and, remarkably, another one that seems to group together drivetrain and driving dynamics functions in a single unit. The integrated braking and energy recuperation control eliminates using the conventional friction brakes in most circumstances in favor of regeneration, which, according to BMW, can increase efficiency by up to 25 percent. The same goes for when stopping and restarting whether in a specific drive mode, the active cruise control system doing it for you, or using the Auto Hold feature.
BMW claims the Heart of Joy will feature in each electric Neue Klasse model, resulting in better efficiency, range, and a more pleasing driving experience. Alongside the Heart of Joy, new electric BMWs will have three core “superbrain” systems to manage automated driving and driving dynamics, climate control, vehicle access, and interior and exterior lighting in the future.
Another demonstration of the Heart of Joy in the Vision Driving Experience concept is the colour-shifting wheels. The wheels light up green when its accelerating, blue when its recuperating energy, and orange when its braking. BMW did not provide details of how this technology works, but it could be similar to the e-ink mechanism used for the color-changing body panels of the carmaker’s i Vision Dee concept.
BMW Vision Driving Experience concept — PERFORMING IN THE WILD
Although heavily disguised as a test mule, the overall proportions suggest a link to the likes of the Vision Neue Klasse concept, as well as the spy shots of the next-gen 3 Series. However, the Vision Driving Experience sets itself apart from the Vision Neue Klasse with slender headlights and kidney grilles that rest integrated into the body design, along with an enormous air dam beneath with two vertical slats on either side.
The Vision Driving Experience’s glasshouse might look like a carbon copy of the Neue Klasse, complete with its upward kink at the C-pillar. It’s more or less the same story with the tail-lamps and rear profile but with two large openings on the rear bumper.
BMW Vision Driving Experience concept: interior
The cockpit of the Vision Driving Experience concept features a large, rhomboidal infotainment screen. A smaller display behind it spans nearly the width of the dashboard and is essentially the instrument cluster. Most of the high-tech buttons are on a minimalist centre console and in heavily bolstered carbonfibre bucket chairs.
BMW has confirmed the launch production of the first Neue Klasse model will start later this year at the automaker’s facility in Debrecen, Hungary. The production-spec electric 3 Series based on the Neue Klasse concept will make its global debut in 2026.