2014 BMW i3 - future generation

Yes, that is the version that'll be property in showrooms next spring, priced from $42,275 (including destination).

As expected, it strongly resembles the smattering of theory variants unveiled over the previous two years, as a result of the suicidestyle rear doors and comparatively spartan cabin.

The i3 will be accessible with a petrol rangeextender, nevertheless. On electric power only the i3 should cover a decent 80 to 100 miles but owners of rangeextended versions will have the ability to generate as much as 180 miles using fuel from a 2.4gallon tank in addition to a total charge of the automobile's 22 kilowatt-hour lithiumion battery.

Peak output from the auto's back-mounted electric motor is 125 kilowatts (170 hp) and 184 poundfeet of torque.

What's so particular about the i3 is that it's revolutionizing the way mainstream automobiles are engineered and assembled. The majority of its body is composed of lightweight composite materials for example reinforced carbon fiber plastic and its particular chassis is composed of magnesium and aluminum - - the first massproduced auto with these kinds of characteristics.

With the front doors open, its rearhinged halfwidth rear doors swing out to offer easy entrance into the inside, with no B - pillars in the way. The B-pillar supports are assembled in to the leading edge of the back doors.

Totally Modular

The i3 isn't bound to standard architecture, its layout hinging on a two-element approach: the Drive module and the Life module. The Drive module is created almost entirely of aluminum. It houses the 170hp electric motor (found just in front of the rear axle and cancel to the driver's side); the 450pound, 96cell lithiumion battery; and the suspension bits. No subframes are used--the motor mounts right to the chassis. It's bodyon-frame building rethought and optimized for weight reduction--actually, the very first creation skateboard-chassis auto. There are forgedaluminum control arms finding five weightoptimized steel links and the front struts at each back corner. Even the chassis bolts are made from aluminium.

The Life module may be the top half of the set, and it uses as much carbon fiber as the lower half uses aluminum, which would be to say, plenty. The two modules are bonded and bolted together, developing a rigid construction. The top layer is an unstressed skin made from dents that are resisted by injection-molded thermoplastic panels such as the body panels used in Saturn versions of the '90s.

The interior parts have been painstakingly lightened, also. The majority of the cottage's panels are made from hemp-reinforced plastic, complete with open fibers, cutting each panel's weight by about 10 percent. The front seats use composite shells and have no electrical adjustments; the back seat's composite pan is strengthened with carbonfiber trimmings left over from the shell's production process.

And while we're on the issue of back seats, the i3's is fairly roomy, even though the seat bottom is reduced to the floor, forcing passengers into a somewhat acute knee angle. However, headroom is exceptional, and hip- and shoulder room are adequate (thanks in part to 2-abreast back seats). Glass roof panels produce a impression.

2014 BMW I3 Concept Coupe At NAIAS 2013 Detroit Auto Show

12.12.2014
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