BMW AG took another step in the direction of electrification at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show by rolling out a concept version of an electric, three-door coupe.
The i3 Concept Coupe is the third electrified car BMW has announced in the past 18 months. It joins the racy i8 hybrid and a five-door vehicle (also called the i3) that is slated to reach production at the end of 2013. Like the five-door car, the coupe will be designed from the ground up as an electric vehicle.
BMW did not offer a production schedule for the coupe, but it did call the vehicle yet another sign the luxury automaker is earnest in its plan to bring electric powertrains to the premium car segment. "We're very serious about getting real sales volumes from this," Matthew Russell, a spokesman for BMW, told us. "It's a car that will have an appeal to a huge number of mega-city residents, business people, and electric car aficionados. We're expecting a real demand for this car."
Click on the photo below to check out BMW's EV lineup.
Family members: The i3 Concept Coupe joins two other vehicles in BMW's i sub-brand. The i8 plug-in hybrid (right) will reach production in 2014, and the five-door all-electric i3 EV will come out in 2013. (Source: BMW)
The i3 Concept Coupe is the third vehicle to be proposed for the BMW i sub-brand. All three vehicles will use a body-on-frame approach consisting of two functional units -- a drive module and a life module. The drive module, made from aluminum, incorporates the suspension, battery, drive system, and structural components. The life module, which sits atop the drive module, is a high-strength passenger cell made from carbon fiber-reinforced plastic. The plastic is said to offer a huge weight reduction, which is why the i3 Concept Coupe checks in at just 2,756 pounds.
The coupe will be propelled by a 170hp electric motor developed by BMW that offers 184lb-ft of torque and works in conjunction with a single-speed transmission. A liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery (of unknown capacity as yet) will provide approximately 100 miles of all-electric range. BMW has said the i3 will offer an optional range extender -- an onboard generator coupled with a small gas tank. "It's kind of an emergency-only feature," Russell said. "It's for people who have some range anxiety and are transitioning into an electric vehicle. It helps them relax by roughly doubling the range."
Battery charging for the coupe takes about three hours. However, an optional, DC fast-charge setup (available only at public charging stations) can charge the battery in less than an hour.
Unlike two other electric vehicles unveiled at the L.A. Auto Show (the Chevy Spark and the Fiat 500e), the BMW i3 vehicles will not be built atop another vehicle's platform, Russell said. "It's not based on anything. The aerodynamics, architecture, propulsion, battery, motors, wheels, tires -- all of it's brand new."
Though BMW did not reveal a price for the concept car, Russell did say it would be positioned at the premium end of the electric car market segment. "We believe we are more in the category of the Tesla Model S," whose base price was recently boosted to $59,900. "Like the Model S, it's a unique vehicle. We see it as a key part of the future of mobility."
Good questions, JayBee. Yes, the three-hour recharge time is for a residential location operating at 30A and 240V. The i3's battery is is not terribly big -- about 21 kWh, which makes it larger than the Volt's 16-kWh battery butsmaller than the Leaf's 24-kWh battery. It's also significantly smaller than the BMW ActiveE (an electric demonstration car from BMW) battery, which was 32-kWh. Regarding the DC fast charge: This is the SAE DC fast charge methodology. BMW is officially saying that the DC fast charge would be one hour, but I think they're being conservative. It's probably closer to 30 minutes. But that's a 480V, three-phase power, which homes typically don't have. Sorry we didn't mention this in the article.
BMW is saying that this isn't a so-called "compliance car," Cadman-LT. All automakers say that, of course, but I tend to believe it in this case. We'll know better when the i3 hits the road late next year, though.
Yes, BMW built it and showed it off at the recent LA Auto Show, akwaman. But this coupe is not as far along as the i3 five-door, which is the one that will come out in 2013. As to whether they will make their 2013 production schedule...I think they will. We've been talking to them about the i3 and i8 since 2011 and they haven't wavered from that schedule.
Nice article. I think those are Maclaren-style doors. I always liked those. Spectators are busy checking out the doors and maybe won't notice you gracelessly struggling to climb out of the deep bucket seats. The i8 concept looks cool. Kinda looks like a cross between a 6-Series and a Genesis Coupe. Too bad the price will be high. Decent charge-time, good styling, but the range is a bit limited for highway trips even with the range extender. I guess time will tell.
Yes, I hope those doors make it into the production version. I think it's safe to say this isn't just a compliance car. Looks like they put a lot of work into it and it brings quite a bit of inovation to an industry sorely needing it. I hope there's a market for the car. At the very least, this design should influence other brands.
Tesla Motors plans to roll out a “compelling, affordable electric car” that will sell for about half the price of its high-profile Model S by the end of 2016, company chairman Elon Musk said last week.
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