BMW commences testing of high-performance electric prototype

BMW has confirmed that it is working on a new quad-motor electric performance car.

Set to provide the groundwork for future electric vehicles, the current test model uses four electric motors to provide four-wheel-drive. It’s based on the current BMW i4 M50, but features a modified body with wider wheel arches that help with the fitment of high-performance front and rear axles.

BMW says that the development of this M xDrive four-wheel-drive system with electric motors ‘opens up completely new possibilities’, allowing power and torque to be shifted around the four wheels independently and within milliseconds.

“Electrification opens up completely new degrees of freedom for us to create M-typical dynamics,” says Dirk Häcker, head of development at BMW M. “And we can already see that we can exploit this potential to the maximum, so that our high-performance sports cars will continue to offer the M-typical and incomparable combination of dynamics, agility and precision in the locally emission-free future.”

The four motors are connected to a central control unit which monitors both the driving conditions and the driver’s selected modes. The system can detect the ideal way of transmitting the power to the road based on values from the accelerator pedal position, steering angle and wheel speeds, all calculated in milliseconds. These systems have been created through ‘intensive development and test phases’ with both virtual and physical models used.

Thanks to its ability to be changed so quickly, the four-wheel-drive system can ensure that the car maintains the best possible traction, even on rained-on or snowy roads.