Automobile Magazine reports that Bose Corporation has spent the last 20 years developing a
Bose active suspension system that would work well on luxury sedans and sports cars. The premise was "simple": Develop an electromagnetic, computer-controlled suspension system that would offer the magic carpet ride of a fine luxury automobile, yet provide the crisp handling of a high-performance sports car. It's a simple premise, yet a seemingly insurmountable (and senseless) task given that the active suspension systems designed by savvy engineers at companies such as Lotus, Infiniti, and Mercedes-Benz in the past two decades have all since been discontinued. From the magazine:
Next, in Bose mode, we attacked the same horrid road, but inside the passenger compartment, we were sailing along on a cruise ship. The teensiest of cradle rock. Looking at a mirror on an adjacent wall of the garage, we could see our LS400's tires chattering and bashing along, as if they belonged to another car, not the one in which we were blissfully rocking along. It was mind-boggling, unbelievably astonishing, no less than earth shattering.
Is this the next step in luxury car evolution? Maybe. If the suspension system has even the minimum fidelity of certain cube systems we've heard in the past, it will be enough to smooth out most difficult ride issues. Bose has also stated that the system weight will be reduced by 50% within 6 months. I wonder if speed bumps will need to be redesigned?
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