BMW i3 EV Set For Release On July 29

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After a two-year wait, it looks like BMW is finally going to reveal the final production version of the BMW i3 electric car on July 29, 2013. Naturally, it will most likely be almost identical to the i3 concept prototypes that have been floating around since it was originally announced.

BMW i3 EV

To mark the anticipated event BMW released a video to promote the long-awaited release of the i3 EV. The video is very vague, to say the least, but I guess BMW’s marketing department know what it is doing — at least I hope so.

When I first watched the video, I thought the first part was an ad for some type of fashion thing, but as I waited for the fashion ad to end, I realized that it was part of BMW’s i3 promotional video.

After watching it a few times, I still don’t see the marketing ploy made by the BMW team. Using models at a fashion shoot jumping around in my opinion has nothing to do with the unveiling of the i3, but that’s just my opinion. Maybe I’m wrong.

http://youtu.be/89OA3a0pNoI


Anyway, we do know some facts about the BMW i3 that was not contained in the release video. The i3 will be equipped with a rear-mounted electric motor driving the rear wheels and a peak power rating of 125 kilowatts (167 horsepower). It will use a lithium-ion battery that should give it a driving range of 80 to 100 miles on a single charge. However, BMW is reportedly also going to also offer a range-extending twin-cylinder gasoline engine version — that should push the driving range to around 180 to 190 miles.

The BMW i3 will use a lightweight carbon fiber reinforced plastic for its body, which will help it to achieve 0-60 mph in just under 8 seconds. BMW claims that using its high-speed charger will allow the i3 lithium-ion battery to achieve 80% charge in about an hour.

The expected price of the BMW i3 is to be around the low $40,000 range, comparable to the well-equipped 3-series. We reported awhile back that BMW already had 100,000 reservations to test drive the i3, with money of those people also putting down a deposit for the car, so it looks like BMW might be off to a good start.


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