BMW 5 Series GT brings the “Brake Energy Regeneration” technology

An important element overlooked in the new BMW 5 Series GT, is the introduction for the first time in a U.S. BMW models of the Brake Energy Regeneration system. This particular technology has been already integrated in some European models as part of the BMW Efficiency Program.

The Brake Energy Regeneration system helps to save energy and therefore reduce the fuel consumptions by using an electronically controlled alternator. In most of the cars out there, the car’s alternator runs continuously and it can charge the battery at any time. In the new 5 Gran Turismo, the alternator is disengaged from the engine during normal cruise and acceleration, but it activates during decelerating or braking.  This adds to the engine drag braking, and the car’s kinetic energy is effectively transformed into electrical energy which replenishes the battery. An electronically controlled clutch is added to engage and disengage the alternator.

The battery uses a technology called “glass mat”, in which its internal plates are separated with saturated absorbent glass-boron silicate rather than the usual liquid electrolyte.

Judging from the photo below, the speed gauge now has an indicator for EfficientDynamics. Despite the fac that the car in these photos are built with European specs, we expect to see the Brake Energy Regeneration in the U.S. models as well.

[Source: Autospies ]

2010 BMW 5-series Gran Turismo - Official Photos and Info

Usually, we herald the introduction of a brand-new BMW. Even when it challenges our preconceptions about the brand—as did the 1999 X5, the 2002 7-series, and, more recently, the oddly appealing slant-back X6—we try to keep an open mind. But BMW is pushing the limits of our love with its 2010 5-series Gran Turismo, aka 5-series GT, which we first saw in concept form at the Geneva auto show. BMW claims the inaptly named GT's pragmatic sheetmetal will attract Lexus buyers.

As previewed in Geneva, the 5-series GT blends 5-series mechanicals with a none-too-sexy hatchback body and a capacious interior. On the outside, virtually nothing has changed from concept to reality, with the broad, blunt nose leading the way (and containing many pedestrian protection devices within it). While the “Corona rings” in the headlights are now LEDs and frameless windows top the aluminum doors, the most interesting exterior feature is the curious hatchback. It can be opened like a traditional hatchback and also has a separate flap that opens more like a trunk, presumably in order to make the car more palatable to people that have a stigma against hatchback designs. (Since people who stigmatize hatchbacks usually do so because of their looks, not their cargo access, the dual-mode hatch probably won’t help.) Wheel sizes will range from 18 to 20 inches, but even the biggest rollers get dwarfed by the slab sides of the GT. This fortress-on-tiny-wheels design may appeal to Lexus RX shoppers.

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