By Giancarlo Perini ©
According to well placed sources, on February 21st, when Dr.-Ing. Norbert Reithofer , CEO of the BMW Group will eventually and officially announce the name of the sub-brand that the German group is setting up for the production and sale of the all-new range of automobiles (designed to specifically meet the expectations of mega cities drivers), the audience will be impressed for the extreme simplicity of the formula and logo.
The sub-brand is simply named “BMW i” (but it could well be iBMW or i-BMW) and reflects the same approach to specialty vehicles the company took when it launched the “BMW M” division dedicated to race-inspired high performance range, back in 1972.
In the past months (actually years) the industry has been wondering and questioning which way BMW would go when marketing their innovative new vehicles and enthusiasts expected that some old brands, such as Isetta, would be resurrected. More recently, after BMW announced that the first vehicles to bow from the “Project-i” will be a full-electric development many sources were ready to bet the sub-brand would start with an “e” for electric(ity).
Late in 2007 BMW put together the Project ‘i’ group in order to develop a “completely new car and mobility concepts for megacities”, according to chairman Norbert Reithofer. The ‘i’ stands for innovation and in the team was given a very open briefing alongside the freedom to act beyond the structure of the BMW organisation to explore different technologies and approaches, including the exploration of battery power.
What the car will look like will become clear in September, when “BMW i” unveils its first “Concept” actually based on the new four-metre long, four-seater, rear-engined, and rear-wheel-drive premium city-car, that is expected to go on sale towards the end of 2013. As one would expect from such an innovative vehicle the design will feature a “surprise”. Whether this will have to do with the door-opening, as I expect, or something else the sources did not want to say.
With an overall length close to 4 metres and because of the package advantages offered by E-propulsion system, the first BMW i will offer the roominess and status of a 3 series within a length some 25 cm shorter than a first generation 1.
The new plug-in electric BMW will be a roomy and comfortable premium car that will be offering the driving pleasure, quality and comfort standards of a 4 seater BMW, which price will reflect the technology value of its content. I would expect the price to be slightly higher than a well equipped 3 series and the weight to be closer to that of the second generation1 series, with the weight of the sophisticated battery pack and its ancillaries compensated by the extensive use of aluminium and carbon fibre for the chassis and bodywork.
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