BMW Sauber Active Steering

[Wizzo]

When the BMW Sauber F1 Team drivers head out onto the Circuit de Catalunya for Friday's opening free practice session, the rear wing of their BMW Sauber F1.07 cars will be sporting a new message. The striking "BMW Power" lettering which has occupied this prominent area of the car up to now will be replaced by the web address www.active-steering.com for the Spanish Grand Prix.

As Dr Klaus Draeger, member of the BMW AG Board of Management responsible for development and procurement, explains: "In Formula One the focus is on guiding the car quickly and precisely around the track, which is why F1 cars have extremely direct steering. Road cars, however, have to meet additional demands. In order to achieve the same level of agility as a racing car, series-produced models require variable ratio steering.

And that is where BMW Active Steering comes in. This system adjusts its responses constantly to the speed of the car. BMW Active Steering breaks new ground by combining excellent stability at higher speeds with flexibility under heavy steering. Precise directional stability and assured steering movements maximise roadholding and take the strain off the driver. And reliable steering feedback also enhances driving pleasure at high speeds."

Logging on to www.active-steering.com takes visitors to a website which starts with BMW Sauber F1 Team driver Nick Heidfeld demonstrating the differences between racing in Formula One and driving BMW cars on the road. They are then redirected to the "Innovation Lounge" on the www.BMW.com site. Here, visitors can find out more about Active Steering.

Torsten Müller-Ötvös, Director of Central Marketing and BMW Brand Management, elaborates: "As a globally high-profile and widely familiar platform for technical innovation, Formula One represents for us an ideal communication tool for the BMW technology campaign. Since we became involved in Formula One, technology transfer has enabled us to generate significant added value both for our production cars and for the Formula One vehicles.