Late last month, BMW officially announced its new i sub-brand of vehicles "purpose designed and purpose built for sustainable, premium mobility" which will be released in 2013.
The photos teased along with that release were the hybrid i8 sports car and the rear-drive, rear-engine, Golf-cass i3 Megacity electric vehicle which we've just caught testing in the Arctic circle.
The i3's drivetrain is heavily based on the second-generation 1-series Active E drivetrain and should have a range of about 160 miles. This drivetrain is more efficient than the first-gen system found in the Mini E, but should feature the same agressive off-throtte regen we liked so much in our Long Term Mini E.
In these spy shots we see a much more reasonable shape than the concept, something more like a Mini/Scion xA than a 1-series hatch gone VisionDynamics. This is, afterall, supposed to seat 5 and be a practical car for real people to use in the real world-- think BMW Leaf.
(Side Note: Narrowest. Tires. Ever.)
rollk says:
10:03 AM, 03/ 8/11
Is this going to be labeled and sold as a BMW, or is it a whole new subdivision...?
tomm250 says:
10:08 AM, 03/ 8/11
rollk: It will be a BMW. It's the first car in the new "i" line. Like the "M" line, it's still has a BMW badge.
boomerguy says:
10:26 AM, 03/ 8/11
Meh. This boxy design combined with the expected high price tag due to the carbon fiber materials has me not regretting ordering a LEAF.
throwback says:
10:47 AM, 03/ 8/11
The best camo job ever. I hope you did not pay too much for these photos. That said I am looking forward to this car. A RWD small BMW EV that is supposed to drive like a BMW. I like it when companies push themselves
throwback says:
10:49 AM, 03/ 8/11
I also like the tall skinny tires. Todays cars have way too much tire.
ed124c says:
11:55 AM, 03/ 8/11
I'll bet I still won't be able to buy this Scion-- I mean BMW.
Interesting that driving range is getting better faster than I would have thought. I guess there is hope that, by the end of the decade, the range should be in the 400 mile area. At that point, gasoline can begin to go away.
Of course, a lot of this is dependent on the electricity grid at that point in time. If governments don't spend the billions (trillions?) it will cost to allow everyone to drive electric at a decent cost-- by amping up the grid and getting rid of all the nasty electricity generators like oil and coal-- then all the development by carmakers will be for naught.
tomm250 says:
01:16 PM, 03/ 8/11
Mike, the 160 mile range is a mistake. I have seen that figure floating around but it was never stated by BMW. I think the problem was someone read the 160km range and mistook it for 160 miles.
BMW is convince from the MINI-E program that 100 miles is the sweet spot for EV's right now. I know a lot of people here will disagree with that, but I also am willing to be that none of the people that disagree have ever owned or leased an EV.
Of course they could make a car with a 300 mile range, like Tesla is, but the battery alone would about $40,000, which is around the targeted price for the whole i3.
I really didn't think I would be able to live with a 100 mile BEV but I am, and happily. I have about 52,000 miles on it now in 21 months and range really isn't an issue. a 100 mile BEV won't work as your only car, but the vast majority f households in the US have more than one car and of these households, a vast majority of them could use a 100 mile BEV as one of the cars. Anyway we could argue this all day, but I wanted to set the record straight on the range for the i3 (believe me I know).
The car will have a 16 kWh pack that is comprised of 96 cells in 48 modules and be the same nickel-manganese-cobalt chemistry that the ActiveE will have. The car will be extremely lightweight and likely set a new standard for efficiency, getting 6+miles per kWh used.
blueguydotcom says:
01:46 PM, 03/ 8/11
tomm - if it handles like a Bimmer and goes 100 miles per charge, I'd be totally cool with that as I only need 20-25 miles per day.
tomm250 says:
02:05 PM, 03/ 8/11
Blueguydotcom: BMW came a bit late to the EV party and they recognize that. However they aren't willing to retro fit an existing platform to sell (like the Ford Focus EV) it quickly, they are just using them as test mules (MINI-E & ActiveE) They believe that EV's need to be purpose built from the ground up as an EV, and I agree with this philosophy. I have been assured by many insiders that it will drive, handle and feel like a BMW. Anything less would definitely be disappointing because there will be a lot of less expensive alternatives out there in 2013.
throwback says:
05:15 AM, 03/ 9/11
tomm are you in on the active E test? If so I look forward to your updates on that car.
tomm250 says:
06:49 AM, 03/ 9/11
Throwback: Yes, I'll be driving an ActiveE, thanks for the support. BMW hasn't officially announced the launch date for the program but I'm guessing it's going to be in October, and that's a pretty good guess ; )
I have offered to do some guest posts here and analyze the car to IL. I believe that will happen but it's really up to Edmunds.
blueprint1 says:
09:46 AM, 03/ 9/11
On the tires: 155SR13 was the most common tire in '80s era econocars. THAT was narrow, and 145 12-inchers were seen in Geo Metros.
tomm250 says:
09:05 AM, 03/10/11
Blueprint: I had the 155sr13's on my 1984 Toyota Tercel. What is most unusual about these tires it that they aren't little skinny 13" donuts like what you are referring to. I think they are going to be on 17" or even 18" wheels. Usually when you go that big you see something much wider and not such low profile. I know that BMW has spent a lot of time working on these for maximum performance combined with minimal rolling resistance.