The front-end design of the new BMW iX gives it an eye-catching presence, but it also has a ingenious new coating system on the kidney grille.
The signature BMW visuals – a distinctive BMW kidney grille and equally familiar twin headlights – have been newly interpreted with a futuristic style. Since the electric drive system of the BMW iX requires only a small amount of cooling air, the kidney grille is completely closed off.
Its role has turned digital and here it functions as an intelligence panel. Camera technology, radar functions and other sensors are integrated seamlessly into the grille behind a transparent surface. The heating elements and cleaning system for the sensors are also embedded in the grille front.
In order to guarantee the greatest possible precision when using the radar sensor mounted behind the kidney grille, a nanoscale vacuum-based coating process is employed in its manufacture.
Here, the two-color finish and visible 3D effect are produced by vaporization using laser technology and by a plasma-fired application technique in a vacuum. A combination of the laser-based method developed specially for production of the kidney grille on the iX and a precisely defined combination of material and layer thickness optimize radar performance.
An additional polyurethane coating reduces the kidney grille’s susceptibility to damage. The self-healing effect of its surface can repair minor scratches, for example – within 24 hours at room temperature or through a five-minute supply of warm air.
“The BMW Group is constantly striving to re-invent itself. That is a central element of our corporate strategy,” says Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. “The BMW iX expresses this approach in an extremely concentrated form.”
