Certified CenterAs much as we adore the fuel-efficiency and power that come standard on this new and used car lineup of ours here at BMW Portland, this is merely the start of what's to come. In case you haven't heard, our favorite automaker will soon be ushering their very first EV onto our showroom floor, and if its recent unveiling was any indication, the BMW i3 can't get here soon enough.
Just this week, the BMW i3 took the stage in New York, London and Beijing where some very lucky fans got to see the finished product in the metal. On the off chance that you missed it, allow us to fill you in.
Designed using a unique architecture that BMW is dubbing LifeDrive, the BMW i3 comes in at a light weight of 2,700 lbs. thanks to the use of carbon fiber reinforced plastic in the pillar-less passenger cell, a material that weighs 30% less than aluminum. Not only does its weight improve handling but for boosting energy efficiency as well.
Speaking of which, drivers can expect to find a 22-kW, 450-lb. lithium-ion battery that powers up the rear-mounted electric motor with 170 horsepower and 184 lb.-ft. of torque. It can be fully juiced in just three hours with a standard charger and will also house an EV driving range of 80-100 miles. In case three hours is too long, there's even the optional SAE DC Combo Fast Charger that can fully charge the vehicle in all of 30 minutes.
And if that's still not enough to ease your mind about driving range, you can go ahead and install an optional range extender in the form of a 34 horsepower, 650cc two-cylinder generator.
Needles to say, it's all very exciting, but patience is going to be a virtue since the BMW i3 won't be arriving until Q2 of 2014. So until that game-changer of a day arrives, feel free to tide yourself over with a good old-fashioned test drive at our dealership here in Portland, OR. Trust us, it helps.