BMW has made good on their plans for developing an urban vehicle for the metropolitan areas. They’ve unveiled the first sketches and official details on the future Megacity Vehicle due to come to the market in 2013. According to BMW, it will be the world?s first volume-produced vehicle with a passenger cell made from carbon. The Megacity Vehicle will be built on a new LifeDrive architecture that will help reduce the car’s weight by 250 to 300 kilos.
The LifeDrive concept consists of two horizontally separated, independent modules. The Drive module integrates the battery, drive system, and structural and crash functions into a single construction within the chassis. Working in conjunction with the Drive module is the Life module which consists primarily of a high-strength and extremely lightweight passenger cell made from CFRP. These aspects of car building will lead the way to a whole new process for building cars. A process that will be simpler, more flexible, and use less energy.
"The drive system remains the heartbeat of a car, and that also applies to electric vehicles. Powertrains also remain a core area of expertise of Bayerische Motoren Werke. Electromobility and the hallmark BMW driving pleasure make an excellent match, if you go about things the right way. For this reason we are developing the powertrain for the Megacity Vehicle in-house ? that includes the electric motor, the power electronics and the battery system."
In an interview with Automotive News, BMW revealed plans on selling 30,000 units of the i3, which they say is "comparable to one of the lower-volume Mini derivatives." BMW also revealed that when it does go on sale in 2013, the i3 will be priced at about 40,000 euro in Europe, or about $55,000 at the current exchange rates.
UPDATE 04/18/2011: BMW’s megacity vehicle was recently caught using its rear-wheel drive platform to do the sideways shuffle during its cold-weather testing in Sweden. Check out the video after the jump!
Press release after the jump.
BMW i3 originally appeared on topspeed.com on Monday, 18 April 2011 14:00 EST.
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