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braking neWs

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By Sindhu Nair

ybrid cars are the auto manufacturer's response to their conscience call. Not to forget, it's an opportunity to ace a research race on sustainable development. Every brand has its eco-icon. The Toyota has its Prius, one of the earliest hybrid; Honda has its Civic Hybrid... but when it comes to speed, luxury and eco-consciousness, it can't get better than the BMW ActiveHybrid X6. Hybrid cars were the focus at the 10th Dubai International Motor Show held between December 16 and 20, 2009. This was the event where Dubai underscored its position as the regional show window of the global motoring industry with 13 global launches and 40 regional launches and numerous 2010 models from all the leading car manufacturers on display at the show. For BMW, which also launched its hybrid models for the first time in the region at the show, these cars are a technological breakthrough without sacrificing its key objective of giving its drivers the best driving experience.

High-tech dual engines

You know that a car is a winner when the drive doesn't discriminate between the hybrid and the non-hybrid variety. When one matches the other in power and performance. Driving an ActiveHybrid X6, was as much of a driving pleasure as driving any other BMW, the power and the pleasure leaves you euphoric. ActiveHybrid X6 is heavier, though not slower, with only a roomier bonnet to accommodate the electric engine. The design of the BMW X6, which is called the world's first Sports Activity Coup combines the sporting elegance of a large BMW coup with the presence of a BMW X; its driving characteristics resulting from dynamic performance on the road so typical of the brand. "The ActiveHybrid X6 is the world's first Sports Activity Coupe with

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braking neWs

Phil Horton, Managing Director, BMW Middle East stands alongside the ActiveHybrid X6 which was launched for the first time in the Middle East at the Dubai Motor Show

Middle East, the Auto Industry and BMW


Phil Horton talked to Qatar Today about the industry and how scathed it is with the downturn. "Across the Middle East, the car market is down, by 25 percent. Fortunately for brand BMW, we are down only by eight percent and the main factor for this was the success of our 7 series. In Qatar, the market was down by 36 percent while for BMW alone, it was only down by six percent. So for Qatar, though the car industry is faring worse than the global figures, for BMW, the Qatar market is doing better than the rest. "Globally, as the figures show, the luxury cars were not as badly affected as much as the volume cars. The same is the case with Middle East. In the Middle East the luxury market is

doing quite well compared to the non-luxury one. BMW tided over the crisis because a year before the crisis, it had reduced the number of cars produced and this, according to Horton, cut short on pile up.

Brand BMW
Horton speaks of the three core values that the brand never compromises on. "BMW prices itself on producing the best driving cars. And our core values are driving dynamics, innovation and aesthetics or stylish cars. But having said that, fuel efficiency is a major area we have been researching, called the EfficientDynamics, which is a whole range of dynamics on reducing emission and making the vehicle more efficient."

Two-Mode Active Hybrid transmission (2 electric motors max. 67 KW/280 Nm each, planetary gear box, power split, 7 speeds)

High Voltage Electronics (max. 425 Volts)

High efficient BMW V8 gasonline engine (300 KW/600Nm) with High Precision Injection and Twine Power Turbo Max. Power(system) 357 KW/780 Nm

ENgINE
sPEcIfIcATIoNs
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braking neWs

TEcHNIcAl

sPEcIfIcATIoNs
Electrical energy is stored in an NiMH high-performance battery with a capacity of 2.4 kWh. The temperature of the highvoltage battery is controlled as required and with maximum efficiency by liquid cooling interacting with the air conditioning and an external heat exchanger. When applying the brakes or reducing the speed, in the Active Hybrid X6, kinetic energy is converted into electrical energy and stored in the high-performance battery. To provide this benefit either one or both electric motors act as a generator, depending on driving conditions. The recuperation efficiency and output achieved by the system is 25 times greater than with Brake Energy Regeneration featured so far in BMWs production models.

The drive system featured in the BMW ActiveHybrid X6 consists of a 300 kW/407 hp V8 power unit with BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology and two electric motors developing 67 kW/91 hp and, respectively, 63 kW/86 hp. Maximum system output is 357 kW/485 hp, peak torque is 780 Newton-metres/575 lb-ft. This makes the BMW ActiveHybrid X6 the most powerful hybrid vehicle in the world.

High Voltage Electronics (max 425 volts)

High efficient BMW V8 gasoline engine(300kW/600NM) with High Precision Injection and TwinPower Turbomax power engine(357 kW/780Nm)

High performance Ni-MH battery (312 volt/ 2.4 kWh)

Two-mode ActiveHybrid Transmission (2 electric motors max power (67 Kw/ 2Nm each, planetary gearbox, power split, 7 speed)

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MW Middle East unveiled five new models at the 10th Dubai International Motor Show including two ActiveHybrid models, marking the second phase in BMW's sustainable mobility strategy. In addition, the new BMW Gran Turismo, BMW X1 along with the star of the show, the BMW M1 Homage concept vehicle all made their Middle East debuts. Earlier this week, the BMW Group announced a significant commitment towards addressing climate change at the UN Copenhagen Climate Change Conference. The automotive manufacturer will reduce CO2 emissions on all of its products by at least 25 percent by 2020. To achieve this goal, technologies such as zero-emission electric vehicles will play a vital role. The second phase of its EfficientDynamics strategy was implemented with the unveiling of the ActiveHybrid X6 and ActiveHybrid 7 at the Dubai International Motor show. These two models integrate the latest electric and petrol engine technologies to further reduce fuel consumption and emissions and are the most fuel efficient models in their respective segments with an average fuel saving of over 15 percent.

hybrid drive offering a driving experience quite unique both in the segment of BMW X models and in the hybrid segment as a whole. Through its combination of a V8 gasoline engine and electric drive, the car offers a significant increase in dynamic performance together with a reduction of fuel consumption and emissions by approximately 20 percent, says Phil Horton, Managing Director, BMW Middle East, talking to Qatar Today on the sidelines of the Dubai Motor Show. Driving completely free of CO2 in the electric mode is possible up to a speed of 60 km/h or 37 mph. The combustion engine then cuts in as required (as a function of load conditions) and is automatically switched off when driving in overrun at a speed of less than 65 km/hr. But the best part of the drive was the shift over from the battery-powered engine to the V8 gasoline powered one. The technology is so efficient; the shift goes unnoticed unless you keep your eyes glued to the dash that notifies the engine
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shift. The drive is smooth and silent, with the curves manoeuvred efficiently, and it averages exactly 5.6 seconds to accelerate from a standstill to 100 km/hr. When you are sitting in a vehicle as huge as the X6, it gives you a jolt as the power thrust pushes you back into your seat, and for those who love a good ride, that is pure exhilaration. "In its driving behaviour and motoring comfort, the BMW ActiveHybrid X6 offers all the standards provided by BMWs latest X models, without the slightest difference between the electrical and the combustion drive mode. Intelligent xDrive all-wheel-drive technology with permanent, variable power distribution front-to-rear enhances the unique driving dynamics of the vehicle to an even higher standard, says Horton.

Feel Good factor

BMW ActiveHybrid technology offers three significant options to drive; the first

is for the pure environmentalist, who loves the environment much more than a good fast drive under electric power alone. The second is for those who care a naught to use the power of the combustion engine alone and thirdly for the intelligent user, to benefit from the combination of both drive modes. "Integration of the two electric motors in the two-mode active transmission of the BMW ActiveHybrid X6 allows two selfsufficient modes of operation. One mode is for setting off in particularly dynamic style and for driving at low speeds, the second is for driving at a higher speeds under optimum conditions. "This ensures all the benefits of BMW ActiveHybrid technology, with maximum efficiency under all loads and at all speeds. At the same time the seven-speed automatic transmission provided by the electric motors together with three planetary gearsets and four multiple-plate clutches ensures the driving pleasure that is typical of a BMW, says Horton n

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