BMW i3 Coupe Concept revealed

BMW has revealed the i3 Coupe Concept at the 2012 LA Auto Show. BMW’s i series seeks to promote sustainable motoring with zero local emissions. The BMW i3 Coupe boasts a carbon fiber body and an electric motor with a maximum output of 170 horsepower.

Amazingly, the BMW i3 Coupe Concept puts all of its 250 newton meter of torque to the rear wheels via only a single-speed transmission. Engineers have placed the lithium-ion storage cells under the floor to keep the vehicle’s center of gravity as low as possible, and the carbon fiber reinforced plastic chassis gives the i3 Coupe Concept plenty of rigidity.

The BMW i3 Concept Coupe assumes the title of the world’s first fully networked electric vehicle, claims BMW. Thanks to the inclusion of innovative BMW ConnectedDrive functions that have been devised by BMW i for use in production vehicles, operation of the navigation system as well as the information transfer between the vehicle, the outside world and the driver’s smartphone has been geared towards the specific requirements of e-mobility.

The new concept has the same wheelbase as the standard i3, but has a wider and a lower look. BMW says that aesthetic tweaks like the raked windshield and the sloping rear deck will become hallmarks of the i3 family. Inside, the i3 Coupe Concept uses leather, wood and wool, and thanks to the vehicle’s packaging, the passenger cabin features an uninterrupted space between the driver and passenger foot-well, also because of no transmission tunnel running through the cabin.

Tags: BMW, BMW i, Concept car, Electric Car