BMW's new i concepts revealed

It was meant to be a modest, intimate affair for a select group of media. Yet as we flew to Frankfurt the day before the unveiling of BMW's i3 and i8 concept cars, it became quite clear that this was not to be the case. With hundreds of journalists flown in from all over, a live web broadcast to the rest of the globe, and, for the first time in history, the entire BMW board present in one room, project i is clearly vital to BMW's future product strategy.

The mandatory pre-unveil performance was a celebration of electricity, light and silence – six dancers dressed in simple daywear moved to a minimalist beat, a play of light creating a rather serene atmosphere, the electric cars emerging on stage in pure silence as the words ‘BMW i Born Electric' appeared in the background. By automotive standards, this was a tamed and visually relevant spectacle.

The i3 and i8 are the first of a series of sustainable mobility solutions to be produced by BMW under its sub-brand 'i', announced at the beginning of the year. We have been teased since with snippets of information and a sketch here and there, but this was the first time these two cars were shown in the flesh. The i3, and i8 will now see their public premier at the Frankfurt motor show in September.

In the flesh, despite sitting at extreme opposite poles of this sub-brand – the i3 an all-electric compact city run around, the i8 a part electric super sports car – the two are visually connected through a strong aesthetic that expresses e-mobility yet retains a link with mother brand BMW.

We asked Adrian van Hooydonk how his team set out to express clean mobility. "This took some time for us to realize," confessed the Senior Vice President of BMW Group Design whose slim silver suit and blue cardigan mirrored the cars. "People talk about clean surfaces, and this is what we have achieved here. The design isn't complicated and the few lines we have tie this design to that of BMW, and are an expression of engineering precision."

Beneath their skin lies the ‘LifeDrive' architecture that is at the core of all the i cars. In simple terms it means all the elements connected with running the car – the suspension, lithium-ion batteries and drive systems – sit low in the aluminium Drive part whilst the passenger Life cell, constructed from lightweight and high-strength carbonfiber-reinforced plastic (CFRP), is mounted on top.

Van Hooydonk explained how this modular structure impacted on the design of the i3 car that at a mere 3845mm long, 1537mm tall and 2011mm wide feels spacious inside: "It has a small surface, but the modular architecture means the engine and so on fit underneath, creating a relatively large passenger cell."

The stiffness of the carbonfiber structure means there is no need for a B-pillar and this allowed the team to incorporate full-length bench seats and play around with coach doors for comfortable egress and entry. "This radical departure from the normal car construction delivered us so many advantages which works for a small car like the i3," noted the designer.

Previously coined the ‘Megacity Vehicle', the i3 concept shown here is very close to its 2013 production version. The all-electric car is capable of producing 168bhp and 184lb-ft of torque, the company claiming acceleration figures of 0-62mph in less than eight seconds and a top speed of around 93mph. The batteries can be charged fully in six hours from a domestic plug and the car has an approximate 150-mile range that can be increased with the optional range-extender.

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By Nargess Shahmanesh-Banks