BMW's latest concept isn't quite as
far out as some of its
earlier efforts, and the company has dubbed it SIMPLE, but don't let that fool you. Joining
Nissan's Land Glider in a new trend toward leaning vehicles that have motorbike-like footprints, the "Sustainable and Innovative Mobility Product for Low Energy consumption" is said to have similar seating space to a BMW 3 Series coupe. Its space fighter appearance isn't just for show either -- with a drag coefficient of 0.18 and a weight of only 992 pounds, this bad boy is capable of harnessing a small internal combustion engine and electric motor to tear up the autobahn at up to 124mph. Zero to sixty in under ten seconds and 118 miles per gallon fuel efficiency fill out the sexy stat sheet, though sadly there are no productions plans as of yet. The concept is being exhibited in the BMW Museum in Munich, but if you can't make it over to Germany right now, there's a video for you after the break.
posted Oct 12th 2009 5:44AM
this is what'll happen when you take it out of the showroom and around the corner...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xr8SvdSzs7c
Hopefully not, that's what the leaning system is supposed to prevent.
Nope, won't happen. As everyone could clearly see, the crappy red three wheel car didn't have a leaning system.
thats why designer makes it tilt.
That'll pretty much happen to anything going faster than is safely possible, I would think that the queasy feeling would be enough to make you slow down.
But the Reliant was having none of that.
WipeOut v0.1
just needs a killer FEISAR team paintjob
beat me to the punch! some air brakes on top of the suggested FEISAR paint job and we're almost good to go!
starwars jet fighter mini
PEWPEWPEW :j
Some have compared it to the Carver One, I think it's more similar to the Piaggo MP3 in reverse, and with a shell covering.
The fuel efficiency is more than offset by lack of carrying capacity, so this can only be a secondary vehicle. Not so good if you want to save the environment.
The smaller profile doesn't solve the number one traffic problem--congestion--either. You still take up the same amount of road space as well as space fore and aft. The only way to put more cars in the same physical space (increase density) is if future cars are autonomous, with sensors to allow closely-spaced objects traveling at high speed. That won't happen any time soon, not just of the tech but of liability issues. May be China will be first to come up with such an infrastructure.
In the same vein, the reason this type of cycle-car hasn't hit the production line, is that, as cool as they look, they have to practical benefits but a whole bunch of drawbacks. It's not because the tech isn't available. As someone mentioned, the Carver One has been around for some years now.
Tron Guy would be all over this.
G*d I would like one of this to drive around. I'll be the biggest nerd on the block and I'll take that in a positive way. Spray painted military camo and this will be awesome.
Actually, it reminds me of the nuclear chamber flight simulator from the movie "Project X".
WTF? Want! Awesome - looks like what would happen if a Moto Guzzi had sex with an F111.
I think you meant F-117, not 111.
I think you mean the F117.
Shouldn't you be worried if even in a rendered video your concept knocks over a cone?
I thought that was a nice touch! Kinda like the "out takes" at the end of Toy Story.
reminds me of one of those MASK vehicles...
reminds of of the BMW Isetta which was another three wheeler back in the late '50s
That really reminds me of the Dark Knight's Batmobile, but smaller.
GM beat them to this by a few decades with the Lean Machine: http://www.3wheelers.com/gmlean.html
+ winglets and vertical thrusters ..
slap some machine guns on there
it looks like one of those either you like it or dislike it designs...
IDK, it seems like a full on salivation design to me...
Not very original is it..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cQETVQOYag&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPOkeJCiw9A&feature=related
Have seen those 'in the wild' in Holland for some time now. Must admit it looks sensational if you see them taking a corner.
Except it doesn't look as horrid.
Also seems to run much much smoother. But then, it is BMW.
I think that the difference is that that one has a pivot point but the wheels on the bmw move individually so you don't have to lean as much to turn.
forget smart cars, forget electric. This is the future of green travel.
I'll still be driving my Lotus but the rest of you can enjoy these
What a commendable attitude...Well if everyone thinks the same way then nothing will change. Guess you don't care about the environment as long you you can look cool getting out of your penis enhancing Lotus in front of groups of ladies.. Good for you sir.
You could try a Tesla roadster, it's basically a Lotus anyway then you still keep your " ooh look at me in my sportscar " attitude.
as for the " rest of you " comment... I do hope one day to be a special as you and rise to the top of the pile.
P.S.
Your name is well earned.
if he's got a lotus (and not just a top trump card) I dont think he'll be trying to impress the "ladies" ...wink wink nudge nudge say no moooore
HA! tesla! HA!
*sigh*... i realize cars are going to become all electric someday, but i'm gonna be so sad when that happens... gonna miss the sound of revving a combustion engine...
> gonna miss the sound of revving a combustion engine...
I'm sure a lot of people missed the clip-clop of horses' hooves on cobblestones too, or the chugging of steam trains. But the world marches on. One day people will miss the whine of electric motors and the screech of rubber tires, as electric cars get replaced by something else.
What's new? It's a copy of the dutch Carver: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carver_(automobile) + http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdAaNU0FUrc . You can buy that since 2003 in The Netherlands.
BMW did a concept with a similar engineering approx. 20 years ago (saw it in the BMW museum when I was a child).
So don´t say "the durch were the first ones with this kind of vehicle" because the idea behind it is much older...
I didn't suggest the Dutch invented it. I just pointed out that the Carver is carving the streets of The Netherlands for more then 5 years now. So it's an existing street legal product, not a prototype. Even last week there was one parked in front of my house.
The suspension setup in the rear is totally different from the Carver. The Carver has square car-like tires that must be kept in alignment with respect to each other; the BMW (and some others) have rounded rear tires that allow parallelogram pivoting.
http://www.gizmag.com/go/3628/
"no, but see, if we put ours in the BACK, see...."
Yeah, the production, Dutch version of this type of vehicle had it's own segment on Top Gear years ago. Not new.
And no, a different suspension setup by BMW is not enough to quality this as Engadget worthy. Maybe AutoBlog worthy.
how retro, it looks like a shuttle
TRON!
Is it stealth? It sure looks like it is. Would it be invisible to the police radar? hmm nice
Looks like F-22/F-117 without the wings.
Very nice. This or the Nissan one?
Birdshead bike, condor or the eagle. take your choice.
i KNEW star wars was a documentary!
"Does it come in black?"
How come companies are capable of making cool and fuel efficient vehicles, we all want ten of them, but nobody can ever buy one?
is Sinclair working for BMW now? :P
Yeah, we Brits thought of this decades ago. Long live the masterpiece that is the Robin Reliant.
Looks like a model made for Virtua Racing on the Dreamcast. Look at all those 1999 polygons!
Coffin on wheels.
I guess I'm the only one who doesn't like where this is headed. Sure it looks kind of cool but I can't see wanting to get around in something like that.
How many legomen does it come with? I don't want to buy extras to make a space diorama, they are overpriced.
I own an estate car (station wagon) for a reason, and its not because I love poor visibility and parking in tight spaces....
This is a commuter car - not for people who need to transport their family, pets and shopping. Since more than 80% of journeys involve a single occupant, this is meant to address that market only.
Déjà vu: http://www.machinerytrader.com/images/Machinery/fullsize/75791007.jpg
Does anyone really want this garbage? Doesn't R&D have better things to do?
Must be a blast to drive. I would buy one. As for materials and cost, shouldn't be any more than $20k to the consumer, right?
It must take forever to get to 124 MPH if it takes nearly ten seconds to get to 60. (My point of comparison is my 250cc motorcycle, which will do 0-60 in about 5.75 seconds and tops out around 100 MPH.)
Soo... I guess cup holders are out since they would slosh like crazy while driving? I'd think coffee is a large part of many commuters morning.
They certainly would include gyroscopic cup holders, wouldn't they?
It should slosh much less than in a regular car. The tilt mechanism cancels out the lateral G force.
yea i stopped reading after "0-60 in under 10 seconds"
I'm no scientist, but I don't see the seating for 4 people. Especially compared to the E9[0-3] which XBox huge.
insert verb here.
In the video it mentions the driver seating comfort is comparable to a 3 series coupe. Not that there is seating and space for three others (as in the coupe). It's single occupant only - but that person has similar personal space to a 3 series driver. It's not very clear from the Engadget summary....
This thang is way ugly. It's going on www.fuglyrides.com ASAP.
Wow reminds me of an aptera but less polished and more ugly. I'd rather have the aptera.
Note to editor: 0-60 in 10 seconds (or under how you stated it meaning in the 9s) is not sexy. Most minivans can best that.
And where's the cargo room?
Seems like a motorcycle for people who are afraid of real speed.
For a vehicle that gets 118 miles to the gallon, that's a pretty decent acceleration.
If only something like this actually came to market and was affordable. I want to ride a bat-cycle before I die.
Really? 60 internet comments, and not ONE of you has said this?
"DO A BARREL ROLL!"
I am so disappointed.
Why do they never take the awesome cars to production? Take a little risk here guys.
George Lucas called,,, said he wanted his car back!
looks like the next bat bike
All this is, is the lean machine from the 80's with a little more comfort and style
http://www.3wheelers.com/gmlean.html
This is just the hull of the future spacefighter from BMW, as you can see you will be able to dock to the rest of the spaceship, for ground transportation all you have to do is separate the hull from the body.
Cool ca, reminds me of the Carver One.
I'd seriously consider getting one if I had a spare £22k very cool machine!
awsome. untill someone hits you.
Mass produce it and I'll buy one. I'd love to trade my corolla and my scooter for this. It's perfect for the urban cities (and hope it gets the all access carpool lane sticker as well).
Wonder why they didn't go with a reverse trike layout. Sure, with the dynamic tilting, flipping over is much less of a problem, but braking would still be better with two wheels at the front, rather than one. Either way, I still like it. These tilting vehicles will be so much fun to drive, and more comfortable, too.
The car looks amazing! Is it a car or a bicycle?:) There is also a the new BMW Concept X1 on this website. It looks pretty amazing!! BMW has taken the wraps of its latest SUV offering at the Paris Motor Show – the BMW Concept X1.I loooove it!
Just 26 years after GM made almost the exact same thing
http://www.3wheelers.com/gmlean.html
And that did 0 - 60 in 6.8 seconds and got 200 MPG.
Neither will be available for sale.
I wonder how you will fare with trying to parallel park with this thing..