NEW BMW i concept cars

BMW's electric future revealed

BMW pulled the wraps off two all-new electric 'i' cars in Frankfurt last week.

The i3 city car and the i8 supercar are the first electric cars from the German firm (if you don't count the limited lease MINI E, that is) and they could be in production as early as 2013.

Though they both run in part or entirely on electric power, the pair couldn't be more different. The i3 is a boxy city car, but it can seat four adults and has a 200-litre boot. BMW claims it will be used mostly in cities due to its compact size and fully-electric drivetrain.

The battery pack is mounted underneath the car to maximise space in the cabin and sends a hearty 168bhp and 184lb.ft of toque to the rear wheels. That makes the i3 good for 0-62mph in less than eight seconds and about 100 miles on a full charge.

It's also available as a 'range extender' or what we'd call a plug-in hybrid, with a rear-mounted two-cylinder engine and roughly double the range.

The i8 is an altogether different animal. It's a stunning plug-in hybrid supercar - almost the spitting image of BMW's Vision EfficientDynamics concept car of 2008.

It uses the electric motor from the i3 up front. In the back, there's a turbocharged three-cylinder petrol engine, which adds up to 220bhp and 221lb.ft of torque altogether. It's good for 0-62mph in less than five seconds and an average of 94mpg - the i8 can travel for up to 22 miles on electric power alone, too.

Each car is exceptionally light, thanks in part to a carbon fibre reinforced plastic body, which, according to BMW, adds up to a 250- 350kg weight saving from a similarly sized car.

When they reach their production forms, both cars will be built at BMW's Leipzig factory, which currently builds the 1 Series, 3 Series and the X1. They'll be decked out with more than their fair share of renewable and recycled materials inside, too.

Prices have yet to be announced but neither car is expected to be cheap. The i3 is likely to cost in excess of £35,000, while the i8 will no doubt command a six-figure sum.

Jack Carfrae

lots of news this week, what with the M2 as well.....

just one word.....hydrogen

Come on people - how do you imagine the hydrogen is produced - plucked out of the air, or extracted from some type of vegetable?

Yes - it is the ultimate recyclable fuel, its  combustion producing water, from which hydrogen is extracted, but the main source of hydrogen is by electrolysis, using electricity from nuclear and fossil fuel power stations - so much for it being clean energy!

Even with the best fuel tank insulation we have, a tank of liquid hydrogen will boil off overnight, while the problems of transporting and storing it in bulk are enormous.  Look at the storage facilities used for the Space Shuttle.  Most of the work on its large scale use as a fuel was done in the mid-fifties by the Lockheed Skunk Works for a still-born reconnaisance aircraft, the CL-44, and no-one has since managed to make it into a fuel suitable for the mass market - even in the aircraft industry.  Apart from some rocket engines there are simply better alternatives.

On the subject of electric cars - whether using fuel cells or batteries - can you imagine the upkeep problems and costs when they are no longer within warranty?  Most 'technicians' cannot diagnose even simple electrical problems except by replacing lots of magic boxes at the owner's expense, let alone the type of battery management and motor control systems which will be used by electric cars. 

I'll be happy driving my old  Z3 for the rest of my life - hope you lot have deep pockets!


Edited by Mike Fishwick - 09 Feb 2012 at 1:44pm

http://www.bmw.com/mission/en/