BMW i3 revealed: The BMW Megacity lives

BMW i3 Revealed - on sale in 2013

The BMW i8 – also revealed today –  may be BMW’s answer to a supercar with a conscience for the 21st century, but the other end of the scale is the BMW solution to city mobility – the BMW i3.

Known as the Megacity Vehicle – at least until BMW gave us all the detail of the i3 and i8 a few months ago – the BMW i3 is an upright box with a choice of pure electric or range-extender powertrains and is – in size – somewhere between the MINI and the current 1-Series.

Just like the i8, the BMW i3 has a predominantly aluminium chassis and a body made of CFRP so it’s reasonably light for an EV (1270kg) and should be nimble thanks to its low centre of gravity which, just like the i8, is due to its batteries and the other heavy stuff sitting low down.

Electric power in the i3 will come from an electric motor producing 168bhp and 184lb/ft of torque. That will be enough to provide a 0-62mph of under 8 seconds – ample for city use.

Sensibly – although BMW seems not to have worked out exactly how they’re going to do it yet – the i3 will also get the option of a range extender engine to sit alongside the electric motor in the boot, and provide charge for the batteries when they go flat, making the i3 not just a city car but one able to be used as a real car with a proper range. Of which we greatly approve.

BMW say the i3 will fully charge from a domestic socket in around six hours, with an 80 per cent fast charge available in one-hour. A full charge should be enough for 80 miles (unless it’s raining or cold or hot or…).

Just like the i8, the BMW i3 is expected to launch in 2013 and, unlike the i8, BMW are prepared to say it will cost around the same as a high-end 1-Series.

So interesting though the BMW i3 is, at £25k it will still be just a toy for the better-off who want to polish their green halos.

(23 photos – click any thumbnail for full gallery)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-4THnOdk3I

By Cars UK