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BMW i3 EV revealed. It’s clever, but it’s not exactly pretty

The BMW i3 electric city car (pictured) has been officially revealed The BMW i3 – the first of BMW’s production ‘i’ electric cars – has finally been revealed at events in London, New York and Beijing as BMW plots its course to bring a premium electric city car to the world. Looking much like the original Mega City Concept, the i3 debuts a number of innovations from BMW – which are very clever – but it also debuts perhaps the worst looking BMW we’ve ever seen, with its incongruous lines, bulging bonnet, odd shapes on the flanks and slab-backed rear view. But what underpins the i3 is clever indeed, with a lightweight inner body made from carbon fibre and carbon fibre reinforced body panels providing the skin, all conspiring to make the i3 light – 1195kg, despite 25 per cent or so of that being batteries – and very rigid.

Europe trailing on ESP safety

NOT ENOUGH new cars in Europe are being specified with an electronic stability programme (ESP) that is proved to be most important safety system in prevent collisions. Research by Frost and Sullivan has found Europe is lagging behind North America, where there is almost 100% success with fitting news cars with ESP. Despite ESP being included in the European New Car Assessment Programme since 2011, the study shows there has been only a minimal increase in the number of cars sold that have ESP.

Making of the Porsche Panamera Sport Turismo (video)

Porsche has released a video chronicling the development of the Panamera Sport Turismo as the first model extension of the Panamera. Earlier this month we had a video from Porsche of the Panamera Sport Turismo on the move with comments and insights on the design process, and now we get a more detailed look at the development and thinking behind the transition from ugly duckling Panamera to stunningly good looking Panamera Sport Turismo. Porsche don’t want to call the Sport Turismo a Station Wagon, but that is effectively what the Sport Turismo is (and it can’t be a true Shooting Brake with four doors).