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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.

Honda Civic concept

Detroit saw Honda debut two variants of its next generation Civic. Set to make their debuts in the North American market in the spring, the cars sport tighter, more aggressive styling with 'clean-yet-powerful' lines, according to the Japanese automaker. Taking inspiration from its sibling, the Accord Coupe, the Civic Coupe will retain the familiar silhouette of the outgoing model, with a refreshed bumper treatment and more aggressive character lines around the car.

Elon Musk unveils Hyperloop

Elon Musk has been teasing us with something called the Hyperloop for a while now, referring to some Goldbergian cross between a railgun and an air hockey table that would zoot us and scoot us from San Francisco to Los Angeles in a half-hour. Now, in a 57-page PDF available here or here, he's outlined just what Hyperloop could be. Bad news?