According to German media, BMW is hard at work to develop a car with a fuel economy of 0.4 liter per 100 km or 588 MPG. Apparently at a meeting for e-mobility, BMW has shown the German media a prototype similar from today’s perspective as futuristic as the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics was in 2009.
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According to the report, the prototype is made entirely of carbon fiber, it has enough space for four people and has a trunk suitable for everyday with a volume of almost 350 liters. The finished vehicle would be approximately 1,200 kilograms heavy and therefore undercut the i8 by 300 kilograms.
Included in the weight is a plug-in hybrid powertrain, which consists of a a rear axle electric motor and a two-cylinder petrol engine. The combustion engine drives the wheels directly, but can also be used as a range extender and therefore to charge other batteries.
The performance figures remain in the dark, but the CO2 emissions is said to be around 10 grams per kilometer mark and a 0.18 drag coefficien.
The top speed is said to be over 180 km/h.
Nice work BMW, 600lbs lighter is crazy, they’ll really have to start worrying about crosswind aerodynamics at this point, good problem to have. I was always hoping that the next gen of the i series would be all CFRP and it looks like that is happening. The G series of vehicles is getting CFRP in particular areas and I would expect the H series to have the passenger cell be completely CFRP and the I series to be completely CFRP.
The weight is the same as the i3. Four passengers—same as i3. Electric motor and 2-cylinder ICE in back—same as i3 REx. The illustration seems to be the i3 (although no doubt just a placeholder because no picture of the “prototype” is available). I suspect no actual prototype exists, just a conceptual design.
That’s correct
Why waste more time worrying about MPGs, build a real Tesla competitor BMW!!
They’re not mutually exclusive. If you make this 100% electric it will have great range too.
It drives me crazy when they don’t take the electricity consumed into account when bragging about ‘mpg’ numbers; GM did the same thing when they claimed the Volt got 230mpg. 1g gasoline = 34kWh… It’s using electricity to supplement its energy…. that electricity isn’t free. This isn’t 588mpg… it’s more likely <150mpge.
A LEAF doesn't get 'infinite' mpg… it's ~120mpge; A Tesla isn't 'infinite' mpg… it's ~100mpge.