Official BMW i3 thread

[surfingslovak]

Sustainability hackathon is on the agenda tonight. Pictured below is Rónán Ó Braonáin from BMW technology office in Mountain View, CA

Mark Platshon from BMW i-Ventures Fund. They recently made a strategic investment in Coulomb Tech. At some point in the past, Mark was an engineer on a nuclear submarine.

 

[Fencer]

Sorry to hear that, especially since the Tour is in your neck of the woods. Andre, a fellow electronaut from San Francisco, posted the pictures he took on Tuesday on Facebook. Here they are for your viewing pleasure. He is still in NYC, and took more pictures the following day. They are at very end of this string

Sweet. Thanks. Waiting for that car...

 

[surfingslovak]

Sweet. Thanks. Waiting for that car...

Great to hear! Same here. Although, I'm curious about the i4 now. It's the coupe version of the i3, which will be unveiled later this month in LA. We'll get the photos up once they are available. Meanwhile, here is a clever electronic ad BMW came up with to promote the event. It gives you a glimpse of the foot traffic. Quite a few people stopped and took pictures, even during the few hours I was there on Tuesday.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=12B63umLkWU[/youtube]

 

[surfingslovak]

Here are more photos from the sustainability hackathon. There were a few faces present, which some of you might recognize.
Sunday marks the last day of the Born Electric Tour in New York.

 

[surfingslovak]

The i3 coupe concept was unveiled ahead of the LA autoshow:


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[jhm614]

The i3 coupe concept was unveiled ahead of the LA autoshow:

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Wow! I like where BMW is heading with this one! I have a feeling that it will be out of my price range, though.

What kills me that Nissan designed the 370Z and the GT-R... why couldn't have they let those guys work on the LEAF body?

 

[MrIanB]

Wow, stunning looks. I don't like BMW cars but this one is going on my next to buy ev list.

Ian B

 

[surfingslovak]

Here is a rendering of the coupe driving on the freeway. I believe this is a computer simulation, which borrows heavily from the production version of the i3. With little luck, we will get to see the real deal this week at the LA Auto Show.


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[LEAFer]

Without a hands-on inspection or design data to the contrary ... this (good looking) car's crash-test worthiness has me worried. Or maybe they've done some magic with the A, B & C pillar structural strength ? ( I am NOT a mechanical engineer. )

 

[surfingslovak]

Without a hands-on inspection or design data to the contrary ... this (good looking) car's crash-test worthiness has me worried. Or maybe they've done some magic with the A, B & C pillar structural strength ? ( I am NOT a mechanical engineer. )

That's a very good point. I came across this video couple of months ago. It describes the carbon fiber manufacturing process, and one of the managers explains the benefits of this material, and why it was selected for the BMW i project. I believe that they were able to omit the pillars because of the inherent stiffness of the material.

While it's difficult to make any predictions about crash ratings or the EPA range, I worked at BMW FIZ in its early days, and I'm confident that everything was approached very methodically, and was thoroughly tested every step of the way.


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[Boomer23]

Here is a rendering of the coupe driving on the freeway. I believe this is a computer simulation, which borrows heavily from the production version of the i3. With little luck, we will get to see the real deal this week at the LA Auto Show.


Click to open

Yep, hopefully a simulation, since there is an oncoming car on the ramp with the i3 without a barrier or even a stripe to separate them. Active safety is one thing, but really? :lol:

EDIT: Maybe it's actually the top deck of a parking structure, and there is a hint of a white line separating them.

 

[Boomer23]

Here is a rendering of the coupe driving on the freeway. I believe this is a computer simulation, which borrows heavily from the production version of the i3. With little luck, we will get to see the real deal this week at the LA Auto Show.

I'm finally getting really excited about the i3 after seeing these pictures. I've long been very interested, but I've always had trouble visualizing the car with solid doors and production details. This concept coupe looks more like a real car than any i3 concept that I've seen.

I would probably opt for the sedan because four doors work better for loading grandkids and car seats, as well as loading packages, bikes, etc, but in the case of the i3, I think that the sedan will be almost as great looking as the coupe.

Going to the LA show on Friday. Hope BMW will have a lot to show me.

 

[LEAFer]

Without a hands-on inspection or design data to the contrary ... this (good looking) car's crash-test worthiness has me worried. Or maybe they've done some magic with the A, B & C pillar structural strength ? ( I am NOT a mechanical engineer. )

That's a very good point. I came across this video couple of months ago. It describes the carbon fiber manufacturing process, and one of the managers explains the benefits of this material, and why it was selected for the BMW i project. I believe that they were able to omit the pillars because of the inherent stiffness of the material.

While it's difficult to make any predictions about crash ratings or the EPA range, I worked at BMW FIZ in its early days, and I'm confident that everything was approached very methodically, and was thoroughly tested every step of the way.

[video...]

Great video; thanks.

So ... an educational campaign is needed. Because perception is (often) reality. Just like the educational campaign we early adopters have taken up ourselves regarding the practicality of EVs versus the general public's perception thereof. Now let's get to work on that ABC pillar perception

 

[TonyWilliams]

I worked at BMW FIZ in its early days, and I'm confident that everything was approached very methodically, and was thoroughly tested every step of the way.

I'll bet the Nissan folks would say the same about the LEAF :lol:

I suspect you are right, though. I always question the "eggshell" car concept. A stiff monocoque structure is great in an airplane that isn't bouncing off other cars and street signs. But, unlike steel, once the ultimate fatigue strength is exceeded, it tends to disassemble like an egg.

I would believe that they have actually reduced the stiffness of the carbon fiber with kevlar or other bendable strength material. I guess we will find out in the crash testing.

 

[Herm]

The tires look like 145s, very narrow.. wont be too long before someone hacks it up with 235 tires and complains about the range

 

[surfingslovak]

The tires look like 145s, very narrow.. wont be too long before someone hacks it up with 235 tires and complains about the range

Yes, absolutely. I quizzed Jacob Harb about these tires during the electronaut event on Thursday, and others chimed in. They indeed look a lot more efficient than what's on the ActiveE currently. Somehow, the powers that be still managed to tun them into runflats though, which is a bummer. Jacob seemed genuinely surprised that the runflat concept was so universally disliked. An LA driver immediately commented how expensive they were to replace, and I mentioned the unnecessarily high weight.


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRC64vh6Jw0[/youtube]

 

[TomMoloughney]

The tires look like 145s, very narrow.. wont be too long before someone hacks it up with 235 tires and complains about the range

The tires on the Coupe concept were 155/60 R20. I think they look narrower because they are so tall.

 

[surfingslovak]

That's an excellent point, Tom. I didn't think to look, but it turns out that some of the photos I took yesterday had good enough resolution to help us on this front. It looks like the concept had larger tire in the rear when compared to the front. I wonder if they will want to keep this arrangement in the production vehicle.

Rear:

Rear:

Rear:

Front:

Front:

 

[evnow]

How high does the driver seat on i3 go - compared to Leaf ? Also how wide is it - when they released their specs the car sounded too wide and the assumption was it was with the mirrors open.

 

[surfingslovak]

How high does the driver seat on i3 go - compared to Leaf ? Also how wide is it - when they released their specs the car sounded too wide and the assumption was it was with the mirrors open.

They would't let us touch anything at the event, so it's difficult for me to comment. Perhaps Tom has more info on the specs. This i3 concept reminded me a lot of the Leaf in terms of size and the overall shape, with very different styling, obviously.

That said, I pulled this gem out of the photos. Anyone wants to hazard a guess what the total implied range was? Additional photos are in the LAAS thread.