BMW 320d Sedan/Saloon. City, country road and motorway driving shots.

Barrier lateral crash 90 degrees according to IIHS, 50 kphOffset frontal crash according to ECE R94, 40 % offset, 56 kphRear crash according to FMVSS-301, 80 kphCarriage rollover according to FMVSS-208, 48 kph

BMW 120d 5-door. Country road driving shots.

Barrier lateral crash 90 degrees according to EURO-NCAP, 50 kphFrontal crash 0 degrees according to Japan NCAP, 55kphOffset frontal crash according to ECE-R94, 40 % offset, 56 kphPole frontal crash (car to pole) 0 degrees, 50 kphPole lateral crash (car to pole) 90 degrees, 30 kphAZT repair crash rear, 15.5 kphAZT repair crash front, 15.5 kph

Catapult test (complete restraint system, installed in a car body: seat, safety belt, belt tensioner and passenger air bagCatapult tests (only seat with safety belt and belt tensioner)

"Besides the well-known top performance in driving characteristics, every BMW, every Mini, and every Rolls-Royce also guarantees the best possible safety performance – not just in one discipline but in everything related to safety on the road. That means active safety just as much as passive safety.""With this pit we can film crash tests with our cars not just from above but also from below. These films provide us with very important results, for example about the deformation behaviour of the body structures and the suspension components surrounding the fuel tank." [continuity shots starting at TC 10:20:14:09]"Now we’re in this very spacious filming pit, where we have excellent light for filming the crash test from below. For example, here you can see the rear end of a car through a 13-cm [5-inch] sheet of acrylic glass. The important thing is that in these films we can tell how the structures behave, for example the parts that are so important for protecting the fuel tank. The object of this whole development is to protect the fuel tank as far as possible from deforming – in all kinds of accident – so that the car never catches fire.""This plate in front of the actual crash block consists of a total of 180 individual elements. Each one of them measures the force during the impact – and not just fore and aft but also in the vertical direction. The results we calculate from that are very important for further developing our cars to make them even more compliant.""All of us here are very enthusiastic about working on the safety of our cars. I’d say we get just as much pleasure out of it as driving them!"

Crash car is equipped with measuring equipment and high-speed camerasAxle load is reviewed. Car is transported to the crash hall

Dummy is assembledDummy calibration: evaluation if dummy meets the standard

Photogrammetry: measuring points are affixed to the car. [the car is measured three-dimensionsal photogrammetrically before and after the crash]Propulsion track of the crash facilityForce measuring plate is installed in front of the crash block

Dummies are placed inside the carLight and cameras are adjustedFilm pit. Camera underneath the car is adjustedFilm stage. Camera above the car is adjustedFinal preparations at the carCamera on the barrier is adjusted; barrier is brought into starting positionCrash test (lateral crash with deformable barrier)Examination of the hit positionPhotographical documentation right after the testVideo editing: reading out the high-speed camera dataMetrology: gradients of the test

Simulation of a lateral crah. Determining how the reinforcement bar inside the door would be deformed and which parts of the door trim could hit the dummy

On the catapult the body is jolted by a hydraulic piston according to the principle of inverse kinematics. This simulates an impact. Restraint systems such as safety belts, seats, belt tensioners, air bags etc. are examined hereDummies waiting for their assignmentCatapult facility; continuity shotsFaces of the dummies are painted, so that after the test the position, where the head hit the air bag, can be determined Connecting the measuring equipmentComplete shot of catapult, pan to the control stationLight banks are positioned, film light is switched onCountdown, hydraulic piston is releasedVideo editing: reading out the high-speed camera data