Instead of spy photographers chasing new test mules, BMW is now employing some of the same techniques to achieve similar results. A team of official BMW “spy photographers” went to Sweden to capture a G01 BMW X3 during winter testing.
To ensure that a BMW functions in all conditions and that the customer is able to enjoy unrestricted access to that brand-typical “driving pleasure” at any time, BMW invests a great deal of time and know-how in both the construction and the testing of new automobiles, including the most severe endurance tests. For example, testing under extreme climatic conditions such as those prevailing in scorching hot deserts or freezing cold winter landscapes.
Moreover, the extensive ice surfaces of frozen lakes and the numerous remote roads with their firmly packed layers of snow offer excellent conditions for fine tuning of the settings activated via the Driving Experience Control function – and hence for the application of maximum driving pleasure and best possible driving safety. As a result, engineers are in a position to sense the vehicle’s dynamic behavior much more accurately and synchronize the control of driver assistant systems such as Dynamic Stability Control (DSC) or Dynamic Traction Control (DTC) even more precisely and to attune it to the vehicle as a whole.
Within the framework of the final winter trials, a BMW testing team completed a fastidious testing program in wintery North Sweden. In the landscape around the small town of Arjeplog, pre-series models of the new BMW X3 had to prove that they are also able to withstand cold, ice and snow. Located in the historic province of Lapland barely 56 kilometers south of the polar circle, Arjeplog offers the ideal conditions for this. An abundant amount of snow and temperatures of minus 20 degrees and below cause the many lakes in the surrounding area to freeze over. The resulting vast, even surfaces serve as proving grounds on which steering, suspension and drive characteristics can be meticulously tested and various different technical solutions compared against one another.
Based on BMW’s new CLAR (Cluster Architecture) platform, the new BMW X3 will be longer, wider and roomier on the inside, while also being lighter and stiffer. It will also come with new engine options, ranging from the new B48 2.0 liter turbo-four to the B58 3.0 liter turbo inline-six. The latter will likely be what’s powering the upcoming X3 M40i variant.
According to our sources, the G01 BMW X3 will be unveiled in June 2017, followed by the world premiere at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Sales of the G01 X3 are scheduled to begin in March 2018.
[fvplayer src=”https://vimeo.com/206606178″ width=”640″ height=”360″ splash=”https://i.vimeocdn.com/video/621675637_1280x720.jpg?r=pad” caption=”2017 BMW G01 X3 during winter testing”]
