The BMW Vision Driving Experience makes noise in more ways than one. It’s a splashy concept with self-illuminating paint and a controversial rear end. The interior is a stark departure from current models by featuring a large central touchscreen. But the most interesting part about the car is not immediately noticeable.
The odd sound you’re hearing doesn’t come from a combustion engine because the VDX is purely electric. It’s also not the artificial noise EVs are mandated to make in certain parts of the world to make bystanders aware of their presence. And no, the brakes aren’t squealing. The high-pitched noise actually comes from the five fans BMW added underneath. Their role is to boost the car’s downforce even when it’s standing still.
The impellers literally suck the VDX to the road, without the need to add a big rear wing that would significantly alter the design. We’ll admit the impellers sound a bit unnerving after a while, but this is just a concept car. We highly doubt BMW has plans to launch a car with five built-in fans. That said, the track-only McMurtry Speirling Pure with its unusual underbody fan serving the same aerodynamic purpose is available to buy.
BMW told us the impellers generate 1,000 kg (2,204 lbs) of static downforce. The five fans don’t create any drag, but need 50 kW to work. When the car is moving, the carbon fiber body’s active aero bits add another 200 kg (441 lbs). It’s just a shame there aren’t any images showing the VDX’s underbody to see how all the magic happens.
The concept’s downforce and aero trickery are overkill for a sedan in the 3 Series class. I mean, we can’t realistically expect BMW to launch an electric M3 with as much as 1,700 horsepower and 18,000 Nm (13,276 lb-ft). But even if the rumored “ZA0” will be far more subdued, the VDX tells us the M division’s first EV might just be the ultimate (electric) driving machine.
