BMW has finally acknowledged that electricity has a role to play in its corporate clean-air future with the BMW X6 ActiveHybrid.
Introduced at the Frankfurt auto show, this two-mode hybrid has been created with technology developed in cooperation with Chrysler and General Motors. It represents an innovative integration of electric motors, high-performance electronics and sophisticated hybrid control units.
Although BMW describes the BMW X6 ActiveHybrid as a concept, we expect it will reach production not long after manufacture of the conventional X6 begins next year in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Big Enough for Two Modes
At the moment, two-mode hybrid technology is just as large in physical dimensions as it is complex in concept, and this explains General Motors' decision to introduce the hardware in a couple of trucks, the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe and 2008 GMC Yukon two-mode hybrids.
The BMW X6 is big enough to incorporate all the required hardware. It is 0.9 inch longer than the BMW X5, stretching 192.0 inches overall on its 115.5-inch wheelbase. The X6 is also 1.7 inches wider than the X5 at 78.1 inches.
The ActiveHybrid Concept is set apart visually from the conventional X6 by its 21-inch wheels, light body color and a graphic that calls out, "BMW ActiveHybrid."
The Magic of Two Modes
GM has had a two-mode hybrid system working in transit buses since 2003 and there are about 700 of them operating in Europe and North America. Over the past few years, BMW, Chrysler and GM have been operating a technical center in Troy, Michigan, to downsize the hardware into a package appropriate for a personal-size vehicle.
The key to two-mode science lies in the transmission. It has very sophisticated controls to determine when the vehicle's electric motors should either supplement the power from the conventional internal-combustion engine or replace it altogether.
There are two driving modes, one at low speed and another at high speed. By restricting the use of the internal-combustion engine, improved fuel economy and thus lower air emissions naturally follow.
So Complex, It Must Be German
The X6 ActiveHybrid's transmission incorporates two high-performance electric motors. Three planetary gearsets within the transmission vary the power split between the combustion engine and the electric motors. A high-performance battery pack delivers the juice.
For light-duty driving at low speeds, the system acts like a conventional single-mode hybrid, stopping the internal-combustion engine whenever it can and using one or both electric motors instead. During high-speed cruising, the electric motors supplement the power from the engine, delivering another mode of hybrid use.
With two-mode hybrids, the electric motors operate about 75 percent of the time during city driving, and the transmission bypasses them about 25 percent of the time. These percentages reverse during highway driving, as the electric motors engage about 25 percent of the time.
Regenerative brakes capture energy during deceleration to recharge the battery pack.
Other high-tech features include BMW's FlexRay electrical platform — as seen in the X5 — which offers high-speed data transfer to improve the interface among all the X6's various electrical systems.
Look, It's Working
The BMW X6 ActiveHybrid is designed to drive in a way that will be largely undetectable by the driver, furnishing a seamless interface between the two worlds of gasoline and electricity.
There are two ways that you can tell that the X6 ActiveHybrid has something special under the hood. The first is a brushed-aluminum panel under the rear of this X6 that covers the tailpipes when the vehicle is running on only electric power. And second, fuel economy is expected to increase by 20 percent.
Caution, Practical Stuff Ahead
While BMW is still unwilling to discuss the details of the ActiveHybrid's future, it confirms that production plans are being finalized.
It will come at some cost, as the technology is complex, and it represents a sizable weight gain for the already sizable 2009 BMW X6. But it's interesting that the German manufacturers have at last acknowledged that hybrid technology is more than just a trendy fad from Southern California. — Andreas Stahl, Contributor
Introduced at the Frankfurt auto show, this two-mode hybrid has been created with technology developed in cooperation with Chrysler and General Motors. It represents an innovative integration of electric motors, high-performance electronics and sophisticated hybrid control units.
Although BMW describes the BMW X6 ActiveHybrid as a concept, we expect it will reach production not long after manufacture of the conventional X6 begins next year in Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Big Enough for Two Modes
At the moment, two-mode hybrid technology is just as large in physical dimensions as it is complex in concept, and this explains General Motors' decision to introduce the hardware in a couple of trucks, the 2008 Chevrolet Tahoe and 2008 GMC Yukon two-mode hybrids.
The BMW X6 is big enough to incorporate all the required hardware. It is 0.9 inch longer than the BMW X5, stretching 192.0 inches overall on its 115.5-inch wheelbase. The X6 is also 1.7 inches wider than the X5 at 78.1 inches.
The ActiveHybrid Concept is set apart visually from the conventional X6 by its 21-inch wheels, light body color and a graphic that calls out, "BMW ActiveHybrid."
The Magic of Two Modes
GM has had a two-mode hybrid system working in transit buses since 2003 and there are about 700 of them operating in Europe and North America. Over the past few years, BMW, Chrysler and GM have been operating a technical center in Troy, Michigan, to downsize the hardware into a package appropriate for a personal-size vehicle.
The key to two-mode science lies in the transmission. It has very sophisticated controls to determine when the vehicle's electric motors should either supplement the power from the conventional internal-combustion engine or replace it altogether.
There are two driving modes, one at low speed and another at high speed. By restricting the use of the internal-combustion engine, improved fuel economy and thus lower air emissions naturally follow.
So Complex, It Must Be German
The X6 ActiveHybrid's transmission incorporates two high-performance electric motors. Three planetary gearsets within the transmission vary the power split between the combustion engine and the electric motors. A high-performance battery pack delivers the juice.
For light-duty driving at low speeds, the system acts like a conventional single-mode hybrid, stopping the internal-combustion engine whenever it can and using one or both electric motors instead. During high-speed cruising, the electric motors supplement the power from the engine, delivering another mode of hybrid use.
With two-mode hybrids, the electric motors operate about 75 percent of the time during city driving, and the transmission bypasses them about 25 percent of the time. These percentages reverse during highway driving, as the electric motors engage about 25 percent of the time.
Regenerative brakes capture energy during deceleration to recharge the battery pack.
Other high-tech features include BMW's FlexRay electrical platform — as seen in the X5 — which offers high-speed data transfer to improve the interface among all the X6's various electrical systems.
Look, It's Working
The BMW X6 ActiveHybrid is designed to drive in a way that will be largely undetectable by the driver, furnishing a seamless interface between the two worlds of gasoline and electricity.
There are two ways that you can tell that the X6 ActiveHybrid has something special under the hood. The first is a brushed-aluminum panel under the rear of this X6 that covers the tailpipes when the vehicle is running on only electric power. And second, fuel economy is expected to increase by 20 percent.
Caution, Practical Stuff Ahead
While BMW is still unwilling to discuss the details of the ActiveHybrid's future, it confirms that production plans are being finalized.
It will come at some cost, as the technology is complex, and it represents a sizable weight gain for the already sizable 2009 BMW X6. But it's interesting that the German manufacturers have at last acknowledged that hybrid technology is more than just a trendy fad from Southern California. — Andreas Stahl, Contributor
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