BMW Active Tourer Concept (2012)

The new BMW Active Tourer Concept combines compact dimensions and an attractive, sporty design with hallmark BMW quality. With an exterior length of 4,350 millimetres, a width of 1,834 millimetres and a total height of 1,560 millimetres, the BMW Active Tourer Concept is geared towards customers of the premium segment who appreciate a high level of comfort, a raised seating position and a generous amount of space.

A long wheelbase of 2,670 millimetres, a high roof line and a compact transverse engine with front-wheel drive make it possible to create a generously sized interior. The spacious load compartment of the BMW Active Tourer Concept provides fully-fledged everyday suitability since the batteries of the hybrid drive are housed entirely underneath the load floor.

A particular highlight of the BMW Active Tourer Concept is the multifunction instrument display. Instead of a conventional instrument cluster with four analog circular instruments providing the driver with information on speed, engine speed, fuel level and oil temperature, there is a 10.25-inch integrated screen which makes for a modern display experience.

The familiar look with four circular instruments is still retained, but the use of extended Black Panel Technology gives the drive a whole new range of display options. For example, the screen shows the drive experience modes COMFORT, SPORTand ECO PRO with differing indicators and in distinctive colour schemes, thereby ensuring increased safety and efficiency as well as exemplary driver orientation. As a result, the instrument cluster provides the driver with information which perfectly matches the situation on the road.

The drive of the BMW Active Tourer Concept follows the BMW Group’s pioneering philosophy of sustainable mobility. The drive technology of all BMW plug-in hybrid models and electrically powered BMW i models bears the designation BMW eDrive, a term which includes all electric drive components.

The BMW Active Tourer Concept has been designed as a so-called plug-in hybrid – ideally combining the benefits of electric drive with those of a classic combustion engine. The plug-in hybrid (PHEV = Plug-in-Hybrid Electric Vehicle) will have a particularly important role to play in future. This is because plug-in hybrid vehicles normally have a range of well over 20 kilometres when run on electricity and can therefore be used efficiently for both short and long trips as well as in mixed mode. In the case of the BMW Active Tourer Concept, a state-of-the-art 1.5-litre petrol engine from the BMW Group Efficient Dynamics family of engines interacts perfectly with a synchronous electric motor.

With a system output of over 140 kW/190 bhp, the combination of combustion engine and electric motor enables the BMW Active Tourer Concept to achieve highly sporty performance figures while maintaining extremely low fuel consumption and emission levels. The BMW Active Tourer Concept accelerates in less than eight seconds from standing to 100 km/h, while the maximum speed achieved by the dynamic plug-in hybrid is around 200 km/h. In spite of these impressive performance figures, the average fuel consumption is less than 2.5 litres per 100 kilometres, with a CO2 emissions level of less than 60 g/km.

The combustion engine of the new BMW Active Tourer Concept is a new cutting-edge 1.5-litre engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology. Derived from the multiple award-winning 6-cylinder engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology, it combines the latest generation of High Precision Injection with the fully variable valve control system VALVETRONIC and ultra-modern turbocharging. BMW TwinPower Turbo Technology will be used in all power units of the BMW Group’s Efficient Dynamics engine family in the future – not least because it does not depend on total capacity or number of cylinders. The new 3-cylinder engine in the BMW Active Tourer Concept is one of the first representatives of this new generation of engines. The compact in-line engine constitutes an exemplary combination of dynamic performance and efficiency.