Production BMW i3 EV teased ahead of reveal

BMW are teasing the production version of the i3 with this silhouette

We’re sure there will be a few surprises in store when BMW finally reveals the production version of the electric i3 at the end of July, but does it really warrant a tease? The small BMW i3 City Car has been around since BMW revealed it as a concept (and changed its name from Megacity Vehicle to i3) two years ago. And the production i3 will be revealed two years to the day from the arrival of the i3 concept, on 29th July.

We already know that the i3 will get a 167bhp electric motor at the back driving the rear wheels and will have a driving range, on a full charge, of around 80 miles.

But for those who don’t want to limit their useful range by having just an electric motor, BMW will be offering a range extender version that throws in a two-cylinder engine to charge the batteries once the juice has been used.

That means the i3 won’t be winning any traffic light races any time soon, but it will manage to scoot to 62mph in a bit over 8 seconds, which is more than enough to keep up with traffic, helped not just by decent levels of torque but by a lightweight CFRP body.

Prices for the i3 won’t be bargain basement, and we’re expecting the EV-only i3 to be the wrong side of £30k and the range extender i3 pushing towards £40k.

No doubt we’ll discover more when the BMW i3 gets an official reveal on 29th July.

By Cars UK