“This ECU control unit was designed for four independently operating electric motors up to one megawatt [1,341bhp] and therefore yes, it needs a lighthouse project,” said Weber.
BMW’s new ECU combines controllers for the stability control, powertrain/battery and chassis software into one hardware unit as part of the biggest investment in the firm’s history – the Neue Klasse platform. According to M division boss Frank van Meel, it will unlock new dynamic capabilities. “We call it ‘hand of god’, like we had on the M5 with the M xDrive system,” he said when referring to the new ECU tech.
“In the future, when you talk about four electric motors for instance, you need the hand of god to be even stronger. Then you don’t just need the lateral and longitudinal dynamics from a chassis point of view [as with the M xDrive system], but also the engine. It has to be one centralised logic because on track you want to decelerate at up to 1G or more, but at the same time you want to recuperate and have the right stability,” van Meel added.
“It doesn’t matter if I do ABS braking or brake with the motors, because the motors are faster than the hydraulics anyway, but it is a prerequisite for going into a new era with M and electric high-performance vehicles. It means you can drive this car in a way you never have before.”
Electric M3 driving dynamics and rivals
While van Meel outlined that the platform has up to one megawatt of power at its disposal, the M boss believes that it’s not all about power and that vehicle dynamics will define how electric M cars drive in the future, differentiating BMW’s products from its rivals.
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