What happens when BMW engineers take everything they know about performance and control, strip away production constraints, and let their imaginations run wild? You get the BMW Vision Driving Experience—a rolling laboratory designed to push the boundaries of electric performance with more than 13,000 lb-ft to torque.
Now, let’s get this out of the way—the Vision Vehicle itself isn’t headed for production. This is not the forthcoming electric M3 for instance. Instead, it’s a test bed for BMW’s next-generation drivetrain and driving dynamics technology, known as the Heart of Joy. It’s an ambitious name, but BMW is making a bold claim here: that this new high-performance control unit will fundamentally change the way an electric car drives, feels, and responds. To properly test this BMW threw everything at it; 13,269 lb-ft, or torque and even fans pointed at the ground to literally suck the car to the pavement.
They did this not because anyone needs that much power and performance, but because if the system can manage that level of force with precision, it can handle the real world with ease.
And perhaps the best part is that the Heart of Joy is very real—and it’s coming to every Neue Klasse BMW.
BMW recently put this system through its paces at the BMW Performance Center in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and I had the chance to ride shotgun. Let’s just say… they weren’t exactly gentle. But more on that soon. First let’s get into the details of the BMW Vision Driving Experience or VDE as BMW refers to it.
Neue Klasse: A New Chapter with an Old Obsession
BMW’s Neue Klasse platform—set to debut later this year—promises to be the biggest shift for the brand since the original Neue Klasse of the 1960s. But while the focus is on electric, digital, and sustainable innovation, BMW is making sure a fourth element remains at the core: driving pleasure.
At the IAA 2023, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse held up a small black box—the Heart of Joy—and introduced it as the next big leap in the brand’s legendary focus on performance. Frank Weber, BMW’s Head of Development, put it even more bluntly:
“The Heart of Joy enables us to take driving pleasure not just to the next level, but another one beyond that.”
Marketing hype? Maybe. But what BMW is doing here is engineering driving character at the computational level—shaping how an electric BMW accelerates, brakes, and carves through a corner using technology that’s light-years ahead of what we’ve seen before.
What Makes the Heart of Joy Different?
It’s all about speed—not just in a straight line, but in how the car processes and reacts to driver inputs. The Heart of Joy control unit processes data ten times faster than current systems, meaning instantaneous adjustments to power delivery, braking, and stability. It also combines functions that were previously handled by separate systems—drivetrain, braking, energy recuperation, and steering—into one seamless control brain.
The result? Sharper handling, smoother braking, and a driving experience that feels more intuitive and organic than what we’ve come to expect from EVs.
Braking Without Brakes?
One of the more interesting aspects of the Heart of Joy is how it handles braking and energy recuperation. In most situations, the car relies entirely on regenerative braking, meaning you’ll barely touch the brake pedal in daily driving.
BMW claims this setup boosts efficiency by 25%, while also eliminating the usual EV quirks—like inconsistent pedal feel or jerky stops. The traditional friction brakes are there, but they’re essentially backup singers—only stepping in when heavy braking is required.
BMW even found a way to make this system visually intuitive. The test vehicle’s wheels change color depending on what’s happening:
Green for acceleration
Blue for regenerative braking
Orange when the friction brakes kick in
A small detail, sure, but one that makes the technology feel tangible.
The Brains of the Next BMWs
The Heart of Joy is just one of four new supercomputers that will define the Neue Klasse. Instead of multiple separate systems handling everything from infotainment to stability control, BMW has streamlined it all into four ultra-powerful processors, each responsible for a core aspect of the car.
• The Heart of Joy controls performance, braking, and energy recovery.
• The other three handle automated driving, infotainment, and basic vehicle functions (like climate control, lighting, and comfort systems).
The big deal here? Less lag, more responsiveness, and an EV that actually feels like it was engineered for driving, not just efficiency.
What This Means for BMW’s Future
The first Neue Klasse production car is coming later this year from BMW’s new Debrecen plant in Hungary, and it’ll be the first to feature the Heart of Joy and its new digital architecture.
What’s clear is that BMW’s goal isn’t to just build an electric car—they want to build an electric car that still feels like a BMW. While most brands focus on range and autonomy, BMW’s still obsessed with how a car feels when you push it through a corner. Perhaps even more than we’ve seen over the past few years.
Here’s the real reason this is such a game-changer: EVs have the potential to be the most responsive performance machines ever built. Unlike combustion engines, electric motors can apply torque instantly while also acting as brakes and regenerating energy. This means precise power distribution, multiple motors working in sync, and an overall smoother, more intuitive driving experience.
With decades of expertise in chassis dynamics and power management, BMW is uniquely positioned to lead this transition. And at the center of it all is the Heart of Joy, a processing unit that could be the key to unlocking the full potential of electric performance.
If the Heart of Joy delivers, we might be looking at the first generation of EVs that truly deserve to be called Ultimate Driving Machines.
BMW Vision Driving Experience Photo Gallery
