Comprehensive
crash test program confirms bumper-to-bumper
safety
Umfassendes Crashtest-Programm bestätigt das
lückenlose Sicherheitskonzept
ZUR DEUTSCHEN VERSION |
A new Experience - Driving Pleasure Without
Emissions: The MINI E
The BMW
Group will be the world's first manufacturer of premium automobiles to deploy
a fleet of some 500 all-electric vehicles for private use in daily
traffic.
 The MINI E will be powered by a 150 kW (204 hp) electric
motor fed by a high-performance rechargeable lithium-ion battery, transferring
its power to the front wheels via a single-stage helical gearbox nearly without
a sound and entirely free of emissions. Specially engineered for automobile
use, the battery technology will have a range of more than 250 kilometers,
or 156 miles. The MINI E will initially be made available to select private
and corporate customers as part of a pilot project in the US states of
California, New York and New Jersey. The company is looking into expanding
the MINI E pilot to include Europe. The MINI E will celebrate its world premiere
at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 19 and 20. The MINI E's electric
drive train produces a peak torque of 220 Newton meters, delivering seamless
acceleration to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 8.5 seconds. Top speed is electronically
limited to 152 km/h (95 mph). Featuring a suspension system tuned to match
its weight distribution, the MINI E sports the brand's hallmark agility and
outstanding handling. By introducing the MINI E, the BMW Group is underscoring
the resolve with which it works towards reducing energy consumption and emissions
in road traffic. The BMW Group is drawing on its unique technological expertise
in the field of drive systems to develop a vehicle concept enabling zero
emissions without renouncing the joy of driving. Putting some 500 cars on
the road under real daily traffic conditions will make it possible to gain
widely applicable hands-on experience. Evaluating these findings will generate
valuable know-how, which will be factored into the engineering of mass-produced
vehicles. The BMW Group aims to start series production of all-electric vehicles
over the medium term as part of its Number ONE strategy. The development
of innovative concepts for mobility in big-city conurbations within the scope
of "project i" has a similar thrust, as its objective also includes making
use of an all-electric power train. |
The energy storage unit: cutting-edge lithium-ion
technology engineered specifically for use in the MINI.
Based on the current MINI, the car will initially be available as a two-seater.
The space taken up by back-seat passengers in the series model has been reserved
for the lithium-ion battery. When in use in the zero-emissions MINI, the
battery unit combines high output with ample storage capacity and a small
footprint with power ratios that are unrivalled in this field of application
so far. The lithium-ion storage unit will have a maximum capacity of 35 kilowatt
hours (kWh) and transmit energy to the electric motor as direct current at
a nominal 380 volts. The rechargeable battery is made up of 5,088 cells grouped
into 48 modules. These modules are packaged into three battery elements that
are compactly arranged inside the MINI E. The energy storage unit's basic
components are based on the technological principle that has proven itself
in practice in power supplies for mobile phones and portable computers. The
MINI E's lithium-ion battery can be plugged into all standard power outlets.
Its charge time is strongly dependent on the voltage and amperage of the
electricity flowing through the grid. In the USA, users can recharge a battery
that has been completely drained within a very short period of time using
a wallbox that will ship with every MINI E. The wallbox will be installed
in the customer's garage, enable higher amperage, and thus provide for extremely
short charging times. Wallboxes fully recharge batteries after a mere
two-and-a-half hours.
Driven by electricity: reliably, affordably
and free of emissions.
A full recharge draws a maximum of 28 kilowatt hours of electricity from
the grid. Based on the car's range, a kilowatt hour translates into 5.4 miles.
Besides the benefit of zero-emissions driving, the MINI E thus offers significant
economic advantages over a vehicle powered by a conventional internal combustion
engine as well. The heavy-duty battery delivers its power to an electric
motor, which transforms it into thrilling agility. Mounted transversely under
the MINI E's bonnet, the drive train unleashes its full thrust from a dead
standstill. This provides for the car's fascinating launch capability. The
MINI E's intense driving experience is augmented by its dynamic deceleration
potential, which is also directly coupled to the accelerator pedal. As soon
as the driver releases the gas pedal, the electric motor acts as a generator.
This results in braking force, and the power recovered from the kinetic energy
is fed back to the battery. This interaction ensures extremely comfortable
drives - especially at medium speed with constant, but marginal, variation.
In city traffic, some 75 percent of all deceleration can be done without
the brakes. Making substantial use of this energy recuperation feature extends
the car's range by up to 20 percent.
Signature MINI agility in a new guise.
Weighing in at 1,465 kilograms (3,230 lbs), the MINI E has an even weight
distribution. Minor modifications made to the suspension ensure safe handling
at all times. The Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) system has been adapted
to this model's specific wheel loads. The MINI E's brake system comes with
a newly developed electric underpressure pump. Its Electrical Power Assisted
Steering (EPS) is the same as the one used in mass-produced MINIs. Both brake
and steering assistance react to driving conditions and are thus extremely
efficient. Even the air conditioning's electrical compressor only operates
if desired or necessary. |
Design: unmistakably MINI, undoubtedly new.
 At first glance, the MINI E is obviously an iteration
of the brand. But its design, which is the blueprint for the zero-emissions
two-seater, has been complemented by a number of visual cues that point to
its revolutionary drive concept. All of the units produced for the pilot
project will have the same paintwork and bear a serial number next to their
side turn signal lights. The MINI E's coachwork sports an exclusive combination
of metallic Dark Silver on all panels but the roof, which is clad in Pure
Silver. What distinguishes the zero-emissions MINI is a specially designed
logo in Interchange Yellow, depicting a stylized power plug in the shape
of an "E" set against the silver backdrop. It has been applied to the roof,
in smaller dimensions to the front and back, to the charger port lid, the
dashboard trim, and - combined with the MINI logo - to the door jamb, in
slightly modified form. The color of the roof edges, mirror housings, interior
style cues and seat seams will match the logo's yellow tone as well. Moreover,
the central gauge and the battery level indicator behind the wheel of the
MINI E, which replaces the MINI's rev counter, feature yellow lettering against
a dark grey background. The battery level is displayed in percentage figures.
The central gauge includes an LED display indicating power consumption in
red and power recuperation in green.
MINI E customers will be part of a pioneering
mission.
A 500-unit, limited-production MINI E series will be manufactured through
the end of 2008. The project will thus attain an order of magnitude that
clearly exceeds the size of currently comparable test series. Putting the
MINI E on the road on a daily basis will be a pioneering feat to which both
the drivers and engineers of the first zero-emissions MINI will contribute
as a team. MINI E customers will join forces with BMW Group experts to assist
in the project's scientific evaluation. MINI E engineers accord high importance
to staying in touch with the drivers on a regular basis, as this will help
them analyze driver behavior besides vehicle characteristics in order to
gain the most accurate and realistic picture of the demands placed on a vehicle
with a purely electrical drive in the select usage areas.
Special charging station and full service for
every MINI E.
The cars will change hands based on a one-year lease with an extension option.
Monthly lease installments will cover any required technical service including
all necessary maintenance and the replacement of wearing parts. At the end
of the lease, all of the automobiles belonging to the project will be returned
to the BMW Group's engineering fleet where they will be subjected to comparative
tests. The MINI E's lithium-ion battery can be charged using a wallbox provided
to MINI customers. Only lockable garages or similar buildings will qualify
as homebases and power stations for the MINI E. |
Maintenance by qualified specialists.
 The electric drive's high-voltage technology requires
that maintenance work be done by qualified personnel using special tools
that are not included in MINI service partners' standard toolboxes. In light
of this, a service base will be set up on both coasts, staffed by service
engineers that are specially trained to perform maintenance and repair work
on the MINI E's electrical components. In the event of drive malfunction,
these experts will provide professional support at the customer's local MINI
dealer or the service base's specially equipped workshop. Technical inspections
will take place after 3,000 miles (just under 5,000 kilometers) and at least
after six months. |
Production in Oxford and Munich.
The MINI E has already gone through the major phases of product development
for mass-produced vehicles and passed numerous crash tests on the way. Aspects
investigated besides passenger protection were the impact of collision forces
on the lithium-ion battery and finding a non-hazardous location for it in
the car. The MINI E's energy storage unit emerged completely unscathed from
all of the crash tests mandated by US standards, which are especially high.
Production of the approximately 500 cars will take place at the company's
Oxford and Munich sites and is scheduled for completion before the end of
2008. MINI's UK plant will be responsible for manufacturing the entire vehicle
with the exception of the drive components and the lithium-ion battery, with
the brand's series models rolling off its assembly lines concurrently. The
units will then be transferred to a specially equipped manufacturing complex
situated on BMW plant premises where the electric motor, battery units,
performance electronics and transmission will be integrated. |
READER COMMENTS
| BMW Group, MINI Corporate
Communications, November 2008 |
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