Following a series of exhaustive test drives held as part of the development process to prepare it for series production, the latest incarnation of the two-door model is now embarking on the final phase of dynamic testing.
After having their driving qualities honed at the winter testing centre in Arjeplog, Sweden, at the BMW Group’s test centre in Miramas in France, on the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife circuit and at various other race tracks, the prototypes are now returning to their roots: engineers will put the final touches to the chassis technology of the new BMW 4 Series Coupe on the motorways and country roads around the BMW Group’s Research and Innovation Centre (FIZ) in Munich.
Like its overall vehicle concept and design, the 4 Series Coupe’s chassis technology is a more individual composition than ever before.
The proportions, aerodynamic properties and weight distribution of the two-door car provide the ideal basis for a chassis set-up focused unerringly on exhilarating dynamic performance.
A direct comparison with the new BMW 3 Series Sedan highlights the new model’s unique profile particularly clearly. The new BMW 4 Series Coupe is 57 millimetres lower than its four-door counterpart and its centre of gravity is 21 millimetres closer to the road as a result.
This all combines with the increased negative camber at the front wheels and the 23-millimetre wider rear track to sharpen the car’s handling characteristics by a significant degree.
The range will now be spearheaded by a BMW M model in the shape of the new BMW M440i xDrive Coupe.
Powered by a straight-six engine delivering 275 kW/374 hp, it will also feature 48V mild-hybrid technology, with a 48V starter-generator and a second battery employed to both ease the load on the engine and act in unison with it. Besides improved efficiency, the principal benefit here is punchier power.
The power is channelled to the road via an eight-speed Steptronic Sport transmission and the car’s intelligent all-wheel-drive system. The M Sport differential is also on hand to make sure that drive power is deployed to optimum effect in demanding driving situations. The locking effect is generated by an electric motor.
The final round of testing on the car’s home ground will allow the engineers to fast-track their latest findings into the fine-tuning process at the Research and Innovation Centre.
Needless to say it will be a unique experience to drive one… we can’t wait, and indeed, there is sun on the horizon after Corona times!
In Corona times, one meets many challenges. Such as repairing a quality car like the BMW at home. Something we would never envision to do in normal times. But as our beloved Z3 was standing in our home garage with a loose throttle pedal connection, and as garages are still on lockdown at the moment of writing, the only thing to do was to tackle the repair ourselves. Moreover, as we have to move up a gentle upward slope when driving our of the garage, we need more than just idling power, so we had no alternative than to get the throttle connected again.
So we took all our courage and screwdriver in our hands, and first removed the cover beneath the dashboard on the driver’s seat, shielding the throttle linkage. This proved rather straightforward, with only two plastic screws to be loosened. Then we gently took the cover off, and looked at the throttle mechanism, more especially the lever where it takes up the hook at the end of the throttle cable. We just hoped and prayed that this hook just had snapped off the lever commanded by the throttle, and that the throttle cable itself was not broken.
We fixed again the hook end of the throttle cable into the hole of lever commanded by the throttle pedal…
We remember when we abruptly went of the throttle when we saw the female jogger almost jump in front of our car, we didn’t hear any noise of a popping or snapping cable, so a loose hook was probably it. The cable hadn’t been sticky either, as throttle operation was always very smooth and progressive, so again it was unlikely that it had snapped.
And hurray, the throttle cable was not broken, and indeed only the hook had come off its hole in the lever. The reason was also soon found, why this has happened. The rubber stop to prevent the hook from sliding out of the hole in the lever was just missing. So the thin hook was just gingerly lodged in the hole of the lever, as the photo here below clearly shows.
As the throttle lever has two holes, we did have to check whether we had chosen the right one when we reconnected the hook, and we had to check that the engine was responding well to the throttle movements and still idling well properly when we did not touch the throttle pedal.
So yes, we took our beloved BMW Z3 for a brief spin, and were delighted that throttle movements where as smooth as ever, and that the engine responded beautifully.
Now we just have to order the right rubber backstop preventing the hook from (again) sliding out of its hole, and we will try our luck with our local dealer BMW Jorssen in Aartselaar. Then we can re-assemble the cover again neatly, and everything is again forgotten, hopefully.
In iconic black, the original Panda is still very modern…
Your servant remembers it vividly. Back in 1980, photographing a brick stone red Panda in the Galerie de la Reine in Brussels, on an early Saturday morning. Those were the times when you could pull this off, without asking anybody. Of course we had to be quick. To make our presence a bit more official, I asked also some garcons of the nearby restaurant Aux Armes de Bruxelles – who were just putting out the tables in the early morning – to pose for me, putting some of their ornamental flower trays in the opened hatch of our Panda.
My test car’ had the zesty four cylinder 903 cc engine in the front, borrowed from the Fiat 127. It was fast with it. Top speed not less than 140 km/h.
The original Panda had soon also a4WD version…
I just loved the design of this Panda, both inside and out. Its elegant, simple, rectangular shapes, its perfectly balanced proportions still inspire. Just drive it now in chique black with beige interior through our cities.
It still is a beautiful, modern car. The car is also up to this day brimming with practicality and genial storage solutions. Fast, zesty, compact.
The future car within this same lineage of geniality is the Centoventi. We stood eye to eye with the prototype in the Centro Stile last year. More about this car later.
The Centoventi breathes the same practical spirit as the original Panda…
The present day Panda is eminently capable. We recently drove the hybrid version, just read our report… This Panda lives in the heart of many, and is since 2003 the most sold city car in Europe. And has a bright future for many years to come…
Our everyday cars achieve standards of finish which some time ago were only the realm of expensive and exclusive cars.
So what about the supercars of today? Are they finished at a still higher level? Indeed they are, and they are the playground of the engineers of large(r) groups like for example Volkswagen to test out and achieve what is technically possible now in car engineering and production.
On these exclusive cars they can experiment and reach levels of engineering perfection and finish which they can apply in these smaller production series with higher margins.
Within time, these new techniques will then again find their way into the production methods of larger volume cars, and the cycle starts again, with the supermodels and exclusive cars again in their turn putting the boundaries further.
We turn our attention here to Bentley. Bentley Motors is the most sought after luxury car brand in the world. The company’s headquarters in Crewe is home to all of its operations including design, R&D, engineering and production of the company’s four model lines, Continental, Flying Spur, Bentayga and Mulsanne. 4,000 people work there, and it is an example of high-value British manufacturing at its best.
We introduce you here to the 26-strong team capable of measuring every component of each Bentley model when in full factory operation…
Just read further !
Hans Knol ten Bensel
The Metrology team…
Deep in the heart of the Bentley factory in Crewe is a large, airy and air-conditioned workshop that visitors, even out of a government lockdown, will never see. It’s packed with the kind of precision instruments you’d expect to find in a space agency facility or university science lab. It’s here that Head of Metrology Michael Stockdale and his 25 colleagues measure every part of a Bentley to the highest standards of precision.
Metrology is the science of measurement, and it’s fundamental to the quality, performance and longevity of every Bentley that each component is made to consistently precise dimensions. Stockdale and his colleagues can measure every part of each model Bentley makes, from the smallest washer to body panels and interior trim, and ensure that no component strays from the close tolerances prescribed for it. “We have the tools to measure everything from the graining of leather to the surface of a cylinder bore, down to fractions of a micron” explains Stockdale.
Having measured components individually, they are measured again as sub-assemblies and once more as part of the finished vehicle. Thus, the Metrology team plays a vital role in ensuring that near perfection is repeatable.
Flying Spur retractable bonnet mascot system measured to as low as 0.15 mm tolerance
Measuring and enforcing the highest standards of dimensional accuracy is especially important for a vehicle, where multiple components become sub-assemblies. To take just one example, the retractable Flying B mascot that adorns the bonnet of the Flying Spur, which smoothly deploys and retracts only because each component in its complex control assembly is made to close and consistent dimensions. It is illuminated and linked to the keyless entry system as the driver approaches the car, yet it must also retract automatically in the event of an accident. To achieve this precise choreography and to ensure that it sits perfectly centred within its plinth, elements of the Flying B system have tolerances as low as 0.15 millimetres.
Sophisticated tools measure in fractions of a micron
Laymen use ‘a hair’s breadth’ as a description of the tiniest imaginable measure, but such a term would be too imprecise for Bentley’s Metrology team. As Stockdale points out, a human hair can be anything from seventeen microns to over one hundred and fifty microns thick. In contrast, there are instruments within Metrology that can measure down to 0.5 microns.
A micron is one millionth of a metre, and a human red blood cell is 5 microns in diameter. Not every component of a Bentley needs to be measured to tolerances of less than a micron, but there are some.
As an example, Stockdale cites the crankshaft at the heart of Bentley’s 6.0-litre W12 engine, the most advanced 12-cylinder engine in the world which powers the new Flying Spur. Spinning at up to 6,000 rpm, the crankshaft converts the immense downward forces generated by the pistons into rotary movement that powers the wheels. Though invisible to the naked eye, each of the twelve machined bearing journal surfaces in which the crankshaft sits features minute grooves that hold a microscopic film of oil.
By using a high accuracy Perthometer (a tool designed to measure surface finishes) the Metrology team can verify that those minute grooves are within their defined tolerances, in turn ensuring that each W12 engine produces both the immense power and lifelong durability its owners would expect.
A Flying Spur carved from solid aluminium
As well as measuring individual surfaces and components to microscopic levels of accuracy, the Metrology team measures entire vehicles. The department is home to what are termed ‘cubing’ reference vehicles; an entire vehicle body machined out of solid aluminium that acts as a template against which panels and interior components are measured. The cubing Flying Spur is the ideal Flying Spur against which all others are measured, every millimetre of its body scanned using high accuracy digital cameras to create a complete and precise map of the car.
“Imagine an issue at the prototype stage where the panel gap between grille and bonnet is a millimetre too large, “explains Stockdale. “Does the fault lie with the grille, or the bonnet? The cubing reference vehicle provides the answer, because it’s made to the precise dimensions of the CAD data.”
Optical laser scanning
Different materials call for different measuring techniques. The unique three-dimensional diamond quilted leather inserts in the doors and rear quarter panels of the Flying Spur cannot be measured by a tactile device because to touch the surface would distort the reading. Instead, an optical laser scanner is used to chart and check the precise contours of each diamond.
The cabin of the Flying Spur posed a fresh challenge, because of the range of functionality built in for every seat. The rear seats alone offer 14-way adjustment, five massaging modes and the two outer seats are both heated and ventilated. Everything from the seamless fit of the one-piece headlining, wood trim and sumptuous leather upholstery depends upon achieving close tolerances between a variety of different materials, from wood and metal to fabric and leather.
Precise temperature control
Materials expand when warm and shrink when cold, so it’s essential that measurements are taken at a consistent reference temperature. Within the Metrology area, air conditioning keeps the area at a steady 20°C. But for components that demand the highest levels of precision, there’s an inner sanctum called the High Accuracy Measurement area, where a dedicated climate control system ensures that the temperature never deviates by more than half a degree Celsius. Within this area are three gigantic granite blocks to which components can be clamped for the ultimate in stability, essential for an accurate reading. But first, the components to be measured have to soak in the atmosphere – literally. “A large component like an engine block might have to soak at a consistent temperature for up to a week, so we can be sure that it’s 20°C all the way to the core” explains Stockdale.
An unseen contribution
Visitors to Crewe will never visit the Metrology department, nor will the owner of a Flying Spur, Continental GT or Bentayga ever be able to point to the handiwork of its team in their vehicles. Yet the way a Bentley looks, performs and lasts owes everything to the accuracy with which each of its components measures up to the ideal. And for that, the Metrology team are the hidden heroes, custodians of the continuing quest for dimensional perfection. Every Bentley that leaves the factory is a tribute to their unseen contribution.
“I saw you were having fun, going flat out behind me all the time” Stirling Moss said to me with a broad smile in the Mille Miglia historic edition I drove with my father. We drove the ponton Mercedes 180 D, he drove the Mercedes 300 S, the Le Mans winning car.
Mille Miglia 1955 in Italy from 30 April to 1 May 1955: Stirling Moss won the legendary road race with his co-driver Denis Jenkinson in a Mercedes-Benz racing sports car 300 SLR (W 196 S) in the best ever time achieved.
The Mercedes Classic Racing team mechanics had advised us. “Sie gehen Stirling hinterher”, “die Strassenlage in schnellen Kurven ist mit dem 180 D ganz gut, also wenn Stirling geht, vollgas hinterher, sie fahren genau dieselbe Linie, das ist spektakulär, auch wenn sie nicht so schnell sind.”
“Go behind Stirling.” “The road holding in fast bends is very good with the 180 D, so when Stirling goes into the curve, follow his ideal line, on full power, just floor the throttle, go flat out behind him”… This is what we did, much to the delight of the tifosi and thousands of bystanders along the route. And also Stirling liked it. What a dream come true it was for us, to be in the same Mercedes Works Racing team as the legendary winner of this iconic race. He with close to 300 horsepower, we with at best 45 from our 1,8 liter Diesel.
Stirling at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in 2015, at the wheel of the W196 R Formula 1 racing car…
An honour we will never forget. The be in the same team, to stand as team members face to face with the man who sped to victory in the 1955 Mille Miglia, a 1000 mile or 1,609 km long race, which he drove from start to finish in merely 10 hours, 7 minutes and 48 seconds in the 300SLR.
He passed away on Easter Sunday, April 12, this year, after a long illness.
Picture taken in 1955 at the end of test drives with the Mercedes-Benz racing sports car 300 SLR (W 196 S) at the Hockenheimring. The vehicles were then brought to Italy for training on the route of the Mille Miglia. Look at the beautifully chromed lettering and star. Even a lightweight racing car remained a true Mercedes…
We will never forget this gentlemen driver, who embodied perfectly the sportiness and fair play of a true racing driver. He will remain an icon for us for ever, and many stories will be told, also by us in the coming months, about his long career and wonderful, long and eventful life. We could be part of it, albeit shortly, and it is an unforgettable memory for us.
Keeping your offspring busy in these (Easter) times is quite a task, and Jeep and Fiat are there to help.
Fiat launces a cute #fiatforkids initiative. The Colorbook 500 – in Fiat’s usual playful, entertaining style – is designed specially for children to spend a few hours drawing and coloring in the three generations of the 500. Fiat is offering four plates of their iconic Cinquecento. Your offspring can colour the three generations of the 500, the landscape it is passing, or draw the view from the window of the car.
But there is more for kids in store during Easter time. They will look for “Easter Eggs” in hidden places in the garden, terrace or in the home, much to their surprise and delight. The Jeep designers have made “Easter Eggs” an integrated step in the creation process of each vehicle, and a distinctive, very special design feature.
The “Easter Egg” lies here in the small red Jeep on the alloy rim…
‘Easter Eggs‘ are hidden decorative motifs that Jeep stylists conceal in Jeep vehicles, meant to be discovered throughout time by their owners.
These hidden gems are unique and unexpected, they change from one Jeep vehicle to another and can be found both on the exterior and on the interior. Originally, Easter Eggs were an offhand addition of a graphic to an otherwise standard part of the vehicle but over the course of the years, they developed into something typical of Jeep design.
They are also styling cues that recall the brand’s design heritage – such as the seven slot grille or iconic Jeep models like the Wrangler.
Often they can also be found in small functional areas, such as storage compartments, to be discovered by customers during the daily use of their vehicle.
Today, the practice continues with every new Jeep model and customers will shortly have an opportunity to discover the Easter Eggs hidden in the soon-to-be launched Jeep Renegade and Compass 4xe…
Driven back on idling power back to its garage, after a very short shopping outing today…
With the beautiful weather in Corona times it is of course proper to take our Z3 out for errands to the grocery store. But alas, coming out of the garage this morning and driving up slowly in first gear at some 5 km/h on the wide exit ramp, a passionate female jogger urged us to caution as she went past us without reducing her speed whatsoever. We found it wiser to stop firmly a good 5 meters from her. Social distancing in Corona times…Our Z3 was idling quietly. The female jogger continued her tour as said without even slowing down, barely giving us a look. I then decided to restart uphill the ramp, only to notice that the throttle had lost connection, and idling stably was all the engine did.
I then coasted down backwards from the ramp, and in reverse gear with the engine having enough pulling power on idling, I gently maneuvered the Z3 back into its garage. Is the throttle cable broken?
It looks like it, and we will soon dismantle the cover beneath the steering wheel to look how things are. A new cable might be necessary…
In order to enable dealers to maintain the essential relationship with customers and prospects in these restricted Corona times, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles developed the CAR @ HOME project to support its network.
How is it done? Video conferencing seems to be the best way to establish a link between a customer / prospect and a network dealer. “We offer this original solution to meet a need and demand from our dealers to stay in touch with their clients,” said M. Yann Chabert, CEO of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles for the Benelux. “We offer them this tool, of course insofar as every employee involved is legally allowed to work. Our primary concern today remains of course the health of our employees and customers »
For distributors interested in this project, FCA Belgium will acquire the Google Hangouts Meet license, which will allow them to organize video conferences for a period of one year, as well as organize the training of the sales staff in virtual class situations.
This initiative will be promoted by a digital campaign with the slogan “Our vehicles may be standing still, we will remain at your service!” to emphasize once again the importance of staying at home, but staying proactive and looking to the future with optimism.
The simple and easy to use system is also an additional tool for the FCA factories in Europe as the orders generated allow for a quicker return to normal once the crisis is over.
This project is presented to concessionaires who wish to participate. They will be asked to contact their respective zone manager for their region and for their brands, who will in turn direct this digital activity to the dealership.
A remarkable initiative, and indeed, it provides professional support those considering buying a car during these difficult times.
A stunning E-Opel at the latest Brussels show, with a remarkable logo…
We stood on the latest Brussels Salon eye to eye with not only the latest Opel electric cars like the Corsa-e and Grandland X plug-in hybrid, but also with a stunning looking 1971 Opel Electro GT. Clearly, Opel has been dabbling with electric cars already since five decades. At the presentation on the Brussels show by Opel CEO Michael Lohscheller of the entire Opel range, we asked him why the very photogenic “E-power” Logo on the Opel Electro GT was not used for Opel’s present E-models.
Opel Electro GT
But this aside, the early electric Opels were more than intriguing we found. So we delve a bit more in their history here…
Hans Knol ten Bensel
It is indeed a very long and interesting story, so we will come back on it several times. It all started back in 1968, when the Kadett B “Stir-Lec” I featured the principle of the “range extender” that would later go into production with the Opel Ampera. The “Stir-Lec” study was powered by 14 lead-acid batteries and the electricity that kept the batteries constantly charged was generated by a rear-mounted Stirling combustion engine.
Only three years later, Georg von Opel, the grandson of the company founder, broke six electric vehicle world records at the wheel of this stunning looking 188 km/h Opel Electro GT powered by two coupled electric motors producing 88 kW/120 hp. Energy was supplied by a 590 kilogramme nickel-cadmium battery pack and at a constant speed of 100 km/h, the car had a range of 44 kilometres.
I have personally sweet memories of the Opel GT. As a student but already dabbling in automotive journalism, I assisted at the presentation of the Opel GT 1900 in Port Grimaux, and was impressed by its agility on the winding roads in the Alpes Maritimes.
Research took a step forward with the Opel Impuls programme during 1990-97. The Impuls I was a Kadett-based vehicle powered by a 16 kW direct-current electric motor using nickelcadmium battery cells with a liquid electrolyte. It had a range of around 80 km and a top speed of 100 km/h. But more about the impuls programme later.
Opel also was keen on developing hydrogen propulsion.
In 2000, Opel’s fuel-cell development took to the streets with the Zafira-bodied HydroGen1. Its hydrogen fuel cell supplied electricity for a three-phase asynchronous motor giving 55 kW/75 hp and 251 Nm of torque. A buffer battery covered power peaks.
Arriving in Lisbon, Avenida da Torre de Belem…
In 2001, a fleet of 20 HydroGen3 models was driven by test customers. Power was increased to 60 kW/82 hp, giving a top speed of 160 km/h. In the 2004 Fuel Cell Marathon, two HydroGen3 vehicles covered nearly 10,000 km across Europe, from Hammerfest in Norway to Lisbon in Portugal. (See photo here above) At the wheel of a HydroGen3, Grand Prix and Opel DTM driver Heinz-Harald Frentzen also won the 2005 Monte Carlo Rally for cars with alternative propulsion.
A well styled gem… 13 years ago…
But we stumbled also on some surprisingly advanced and stylish E-cars. Indeed, Opel also pursued the development of battery-powered vehicles and presented the innovative Flextreme Concept at the 2007 IAA in Frankfurt, which featured the Voltec extended-range electric propulsion.
A harbinger of the Ampera, but more of that car in a following report.
In the meantime, just be surprised at the stunning elegance of the Flextreme…
The dynamic PR people of FCA Belgium created a new video to keep in touch with current customers and future prospects in Belgium and Luxembourg, a few weeks before the official celebration of the brand’s 110th anniversary.
To have a look at this new video for sports car enthusiasts who look forward to taking the wheel of their Alfa Romeo again in optimal living conditions, just click https://we.tl/t-hGoEXfwzUA
The video footage was shot on the streets of the Principality of Monaco, which also serves as a prestigious setting for the F1 Grand Prix and where the brand’s latest publicity campaign was shot for the new Giulia and Stelvio MY202. The new models Giulia and Stelvio are equipped with new exclusive content: dynamic driving becomes a real driving experience.
Prices for the New Alfa Romeo MY2020: Giulia from € 34,900 (€ 33,746 in Luxembourg) and Stelvio from € 39,990 (€ 38,668 in Luxembourg).
Autoprova - for the Connaisseur 