BMW has made good on their plans for developing an urban vehicle for the metropolitan areas. Today, they unveiled the first sketches and official details on the future Megacity Vehicle due to come to the market in 2013. According to BMW, it will be the world’s first volume-produced vehicle with a passenger cell made from carbon. The Megacity Vehicle will be built on a new LifeDrive architecture that will help reduce the car’s weight by 250 to 300 kilos.
The LifeDrive concept consists of two horizontally separated, independent modules. The Drive module integrates the battery, drive system, and structural and crash functions into a single construction within the chassis. Working in conjunction with the Drive module is the Life module which consists primarily of a high-strength and extremely lightweight passenger cell made from CFRP. These aspects of car building will lead the way to a whole new process for building cars. A process that will be simpler, more flexible, and use less energy.
"The drive system remains the heartbeat of a car, and that also applies to electric vehicles. Powertrains also remain a core area of expertise of Bayerische Motoren Werke. Electromobility and the hallmark BMW driving pleasure make an excellent match, if you go about things the right way. For this reason we are developing the powertrain for the Megacity Vehicle in-house – that includes the electric motor, the power electronics and the battery system."
The first model that is said to be launched is a five-seat Golf-size family car that is rumored to get 160 miles on a single charge. Aside from that, BMW will also be bringing a Megacity EV sports car that is said to produce 356 hp and a peak torque of 590 lb-ft.
UPDATE 03/10/2011: Apparently, BMW has big plans for their Megacity Vehicle, or the i3. In an interview with Automotive News, Ian Robertson, BMW’s global sales and marketing boss said that the company plans to sell 30,000 units a year: "sales volume for the i3 could be comparable to one of the lower-volume Mini derivatives. However, we can easily increase our output if opportunities arise."
He also said that when will go on sale in 2013 the i3 will be priced in Europe at about 40,000 euro or about $55,000 at the current exchange rates. The i3 will be followed by the i8 supercar, but he didn’t offer any details on this model.
No comments:
Post a Comment