• BMW Diesel showcases efficient technology
• BMW leads hydrogen car development

BMW’s entry in the inaugural Greenfleet Technology Trial on Tuesday 28th March, 2006 will highlight a combination of driving enjoyment and clean, frugal power.

The new BMW 530d 3.0-litre six-cylinder sedan used in the 200 km drive event has a low fuel consumption rating of 7.5 litres per 100 km/h and emits only 200 grammes of Carbon Dioxide per kilometre.

BMW is amongst the leaders in the development of alternative fuel and alternative drive programmes with the likes of Audi/Volkswagen, Ford/Land Rover and Peugeot.

The arrival of the clean, powerful BMW diesel engines in Australia has been made possible by a refining of local distillate that contains a low level of harmful sulphur.

In Europe, BMW is amongst the leaders in the diesel passenger market, producing a wide range of turbo diesel engines that embrace four-cylinder, six-cylinder and V8 configurations.

Thanks to 25 years experience with diesel engines, BMW compression ignition engines are extremely powerful. They use the latest third generation common rail direct injection technology and weight-saving aluminium to boost power while cutting fuel consumption and emissions.

In the Australian market, the 530d follows the BMW X5 3.0d Sports Activity Vehicle, which has proved to be twice as popular as its petrol sibling. The BMW 530d Sedan was launched in Australia in November 2005 along with the BMW X3 3.0d Sports Activity Vehicle. To this expanding diesel range BMW will add the 120d five-door and 320d Sedan midway through this year.

BMW’s commitment to cut fuel consumption and exhaust emissions is further evident in its research into the BMW Efficient Dynamics and BMW Clean Energy Projects as well as its near production Hydrogen-powered vehicles and its Active Hybrid Drive concept.

Unveiled at the 2005 Frankfurt Motor Show, these breakthrough technologies rely on the internal combustion, without loss of dynamic performance. With these innovations the BMW customer is not required to make any concessions or compromises on power and driving dynamics. BMW’s philosophy of ensuring driving pleasure is continued responsibly into the future.

With the aim of producing cutting edge power units, the BMW Efficient Dynamics project, seen in the Concept X3 Efficient Dynamics, uses breakthrough fuel injection, transmission and high performance capacitor technologies to cut fuel consumption and emissions by as much as 20 per cent. For the driver these technologies do not impact on the ultimate driving experience.

With BMW Efficient Dynamics, BMW Group aims to provide fuel and emissions savings across the entire range. It is not limited to a single model.

The Clean Energy concept differs in its unique commitment to hydrogen-powered vehicles, with an aim to reduce CO2 emissions in particular. The BMW Group has become the world’s leader in the practical use of hydrogen.

Professor Burkhard Göschel, Board Member Development and Purchasing of BMW AG says: “We will be offering customers a hydrogen car within the next three years able to run not only on hydrogen but also on petrol”. This dual-mode system allows the driver to refuel with petrol if hydrogen is not readily available.

BMW’s first sedan with a hydrogen combustion engine will be able to cover approximately 200-300 km on hydrogen and up to 500 km on petrol with a top speed in excess of 215 km/h.

An alternative drive system is BMW’s Active Hybrid Drive Concept for high performance models, using Active Transmission with Super Cap technologies. In this system, the conventional converter is replaced with an electrical power unit and energy is supplied by high-performance capacitators known as Super Caps. The Super Caps have much higher levels of power density providing much faster recharging and discharging than a self-charging battery.

All these trendsetting drive technologies do not compromise typical BMW driving dynamics, but further offer BMW drivers fuel and emissions savings, whilst promising BMW’s philosophy of Sheer Driving Pleasure consistently and responsibly into the future.

“BMW is delighted to take part in the first Greenfleet Technology Trial,” said Alexander Corne, PR & Corporate Communications Manager at BMW Group Australia.

“BMW is a leader in the pursuit of alternative fuel concepts and alternative power plant concepts and will soon offer for sale a BMW 7 Series powered both by petrol and hydrogen.

“In the meantime, Australians are quickly coming to appreciate how our powerful, clean and frugal diesel engines benefit the environment as well as their driving style.”

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