BMW's Neue Klasse platform has allowed the company to take everything they have learnt and start afresh.
Image: Supplied
When Mihiar Ayoubi joined BMW three decades ago, he entered a world obsessed with precision engineering and the pursuit of the ultimate driving machine.
Currently, as head of BMW Driving Experience, he talks about the transformation of driving itself - from purely mechanical systems to intelligent, connected platforms and, now, to a completely new electric era.
“For 30 years I’ve lived through the evolution of driving dynamics, and with this Neue Klasse platform we’ve been able to take everything we’ve learned and start fresh - something that comes once in a century,” he said during an interview after the global reveal of the BMW iX3 in Munich.
Ayoubi describes the journey of BMW's driving dynamics in three distinct stages.
“The first decade was mechanical,” he explained. “When I joined, it was all about chassis design - four-arm, three-arm - a masterpiece of engineering. I learned from the best at BMW, people who lived and breathed mechanical perfection.”
The second decade brought a shift to mechatronics.
“Subsystems became intelligent. Steering gained actuators and electronic control units, brakes gained intelligence, and anti-roll systems came into play. It opened up a new dimension. We could add layers of enhancement without losing that BMW character.”
By the third decade, connectivity became the defining feature. “These intelligent subsystems began to talk to each other. Steering communicated with braking, with the engine, with the transmission and all-wheel drive. It was a connected chassis, a network that fundamentally changed how the car behaved.”
But, Ayoubi says, the most radical step came with electrification.
“Normally, when you develop cars, the blueprint is already written. You make incremental changes. With our new electric platform, we had the chance to start from zero. That is incredibly rare.”
For Ayoubi, the foundation of any BMW is what engineers call the “body in white”.
“The body is the foundation of the car. If the structure isn’t healthy, no amount of electronics or software can heal it. You must design linearity, predictability, and authenticity into the DNA of the platform. Otherwise, you’ll always have to compensate.”
“Everyone talks about the low centre of gravity of EVs. That’s half the truth. If the battery sits in the middle, the cabin becomes stiff, but the front and rear loosen. You end up with reactive, unpredictable behaviour. So we designed it out from the beginning. No software-defined vehicle can correct that if you get it wrong.”
The new platform also introduced an entirely new electric backbone, allowing signals to be sent and received at lightning speed.
“This enables us to create a mastermind, think of it as an octopus with arms reaching into every subsystem. Steering, braking, suspension, drivetrain, all connected through a central system, reacting ten times faster than before. That’s something you can’t copy. It’s uniquely BMW.”
Ayoubi says electrification brings both opportunities and challenges.
“Instant torque is wonderful, but it can also be overwhelming. Yes, it’s fun the first few times, but customers don’t want to feel pinned to the seat every time they accelerate. So we designed a balance - sometimes even adding a touch of delay to emulate the feel of a combustion engine.”
That pursuit of balance is what Ayoubi believes makes a BMW feel so distinctive. “You always feel connected to the street, as though you’re working with a solid, homogeneous body. Your commands translate directly to the wheels, and you receive feedback through the steering.
"That sense of control and communication defines the BMW driving experience.”
Ayoubi recalls testing the latest i3 prototype (set to be released early next year) in Sweden, on low-friction surfaces.
“I didn’t want to get out of the car,” he smiled. “I wanted to drive it all the way back to Munich. Each BMW must deliver its own character - whether naughty, aggressive, reasonable or comfortable. The beauty of our new system is scalability. It allows us to adapt across models, from the 3-Series to the 7-Series, while staying true to the DNA.”
That adaptability, he argues, ensures that even loyal M3 or M5 drivers will feel at home in an electric BMW.
“The i3 feels every bit a BMW, because we’ve embedded those design principles into both the body and the control systems. It’s not a compromise, it’s a continuation of what makes us who we are.”
The Neue Klasse platform has introduced an entirely new electric backbone, allowing signals to be sent and received at lightning speed.
Image: Supplied
And what about the next ten years?
Ayoubi is cautious not to reveal too much, but the core philosophy remains at the company’s heart: “Driving dynamics are at the heart of BMW. It made our reputation, and we’ll never divert from that. Customers used to talk only about dynamics or comfort. Today they want everything: silence, comfort, intelligence, connectivity, and we’ll deliver.”
Even more Advanced Driver-Assistance Systems (ADAS) are part of that future, but Ayoubi believes the transition will take time.
“Some customers want pure cars. Others embrace innovation immediately, but many are conservative; they want control. It may take three generations before autonomy becomes mainstream, so in the meantime, BMW will continue to deliver both - the joy of driving and the reassurance of intelligent assistance.”
For Ayoubi, the journey of BMW driving dynamics is as much about heritage as innovation. “We have a legacy and a reputation to protect. Some colleagues say they can step out of a car with their eyes closed and know they’ve driven a BMW. That is what we must preserve, even as technologies evolve.”
The head of BMW’s Driving Experience stressed that driving dynamics will always be at its heart. “At BMW, driving dynamics are not just a discipline. They are our identity. And as we move into this new electric era, that identity has never been stronger.”