BMW Convertibles Since 2001

-

I seldom write about convertibles because passenger compartment greenhouses require plenty of styling effort that's not required for convertibles.  However, I am now inspired to write about some BMW convertibles because my fiancée recently bought the 2013 328i convertible shown in the photo above (that's my '19 Toyota RAV4 in the background).

Hers is a retractible hardtop model that requires a good deal of space in the trunk area.  The following image of a 2014 BMW 4 Series Convertible retraction stage might offer an idea as to what goes on and why aft ends of BMW convertibles are shaped the way they are.


The images below of various BMW convertibles starting with the 2001 model year are side views intended to show the top storage areas in profile for comparison.  All images are factory-sourced photos.   Some cars shown have retractible hardtops, others are conventional soft top convertibles.

Gallery

2001 BMW M3 Convertible
All the cars shown here have a high, nearly flat trunk lid area top -- regardless of whether the retractible top is hard or soft.

2007 BMW 335i Convertible
This is an early variation of my fiancée's car.  Note the aft cut line for hardtop retraction.

2012 BMW 1 Series Convertible
The smallest BMW convertible, probably a soft top model.

2012 BMW 6 Series Convertible
The convertible version of the 5 Series sedans --  soft top raised.

2014 BMW 4 Series Convertible
The same car as in the retraction photo in the text above.  The 4 Series name was introduced for 2014 to differentiate convertibles and coupes from 3 Series sedans.

2015 BMW 6 Series Convertible
A 6 Series with the top lowered.

2018 BMW 2 Series Convertible
Convertible version of 1 Series BMWs.

2018 BMW 4 Series Convertible
Recent 4 Series.  Restyled, but the high trunk area is retained.

2019 BMW 8 Series Convertible
Recent convertible version of 7 Series sedans.  The rear overhang is longer than on 2 Series and 4 Series cars.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Using the TLP250 Isolated MOSFET Driver - Explanation and Example Circuits

-
Image
I’ve already shown how to drive an N-channel MOSFET (or even an IGBT) in both high-side and low-side configurations in a multitude of ways. I’ve also explained the principles of driving the MOSFETs in these configurations. The dedicated drivers I’ve shown so far are the TC427 and IR2110. Some people have requested me to write up on MOSFET drive using the very popular TLP250. And I’ll explain that here. The TLP250, like any driver, has an input stage, an output stage and a power supply connection. What’s special about the TLP250 is that the TLP250 is an optically isolated driver, meaning that the input and output are “optically isolated”. The isolation is optical – the input stage is an LED and the receiving output stage is light sensitive (think “photodetector”). Before delving any further, let’s look at the pin configuration and the truth table. Fig. 1 - TLP250 Pin Configuration Fig. 2 - TLP250 Truth Table Fig. 1 clearly shows the input LED side and the receiving photodetector as well
Read more

N-Channel MOSFET High-Side Drive: When, Why and How?

-
Image
I had previously shown how to drive N-channel MOSFETs in low-side configuration. You can find the tutorial here: http://electel.blogspot.com/2016/12/low-side-mosfet-drive-circuits-and_23.html I’ve been requested to write a tutorial/article regarding high-side MOSFET drive. So, here I’ll talk about N-channel MOSFET high-side drive. Let’s first look at the common low side configuration.  Fig. 1 - N-channel MOSFET configured as low-side switch Now let’s look at a MOSFET configured as a high-side switch. Fig. 2 - N-channel MOSFET configured as high-side switch You can quite easily see the difference between the high-side configuration and the low-side configuration. In the low-side configuration, the load is connected between the drain and +V, while the source is connected to ground. Thus, the gate drive is referenced to ground. So by applying a voltage of >7V (for Power MOSFETs) or >4V (for Logic Level MOSFETs), the MOSFET can be fully turned on. Now let’s talk about the high-side c
Read more

Using the high-low side driver IR2110 - explanation and plenty of example circuits

-
Image
In many situations, we need to use MOSFETs configured as high-side switches. Many a times we need to use MOSFETs configured as high-side and low-side switches. Such as in bridge circuits. In half-bridge circuits, we have 1 high-side MOSFET and 1 low-side MOSFET. In full-bridge circuits we have 2 high-side MOSFETs and 2 low-side MOSFETs. In such situations, there is a need to use high-side drive circuitry alongside low-side drive circuitry. The most common way of driving MOSFETs in such cases is to use high-low side MOSFET drivers. Undoubtedly, the most popular such driver chip is the IR2110. And in this article/tutorial, I will talk about the IR2110. You can download the IR2110 datasheet from the IR website. Here's the download link: www.irf.com/product-info/datasheets/data/ir2110.pdf First let’s take a look at the block diagram and the pin assignments and pin definitions (also called lead assignments and lead definitions): Fig. 1 - IR2110 block diagram (click on image to enlarge)
Read more