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BMW’s next-gen EVs depend on an unassuming black box called ‘Heart of Joy’

photo of BMW’s VDX test mule
BMW’s Vision Driving Experience is a test mule for its Neue Klasse platform. | Image: BMW

Last November, I strapped into the rear passenger seat of an all-electric, four-door sedan with BMW test driver and 24-hour racer Jens Klingmann behind the wheel. It was a cold day at BMW’s Performance Driving Center in Greer, SC, and beneath the five-point harnesses, roll cage, and heavily camouflaged body, Klingmann had an unexpected co-pilot: a tiny black box called the “Heart of Joy.â€

It was an odd name for an interesting suite of tech features powering my brief three-lap stint on the 1.7-mile performance track. The Heart of Joy represents an interesting future for the German brand that still wants to be known as the “Ultimate Driving Machine†in the electrified future. 

The VDX

The vehicle we rode in is called the Vision Driving Experience (VDX), a one-off built specifically for testing this supposedly magic black box, as well as more upcoming features for BMW’s Neue Klasse platform. The VDX uses fans to suck it down to the track for better traction at speed. Those fans are loud inside the vehicle, making it nearly impossible to hear much more than a roar while we’re hurtling around the track at speeds nearing 90 mph, even though the car itself is a mostly …

Read the full story at The Verge.



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