BMW’s short, innovative road to the i3 electric car
This sketch, released in 2010, was our first look at BMW's ideas around the i3 electric vehicle.
(Credit: BMW)
Back in 2010, BMW began talking up what it called a Megacity Vehicle, a new electric car it would develop for the cities of the future. Not taking any half-measures, the company would run a test fleet of converted electric vehicles, come up with new carbon fiber manufacturing processes, launch a whole new brand, and design a car from a clean sheet.
The result of this intensive effort, the production version of the i3 electric car, will be unveiled Monday in New York, London, and Beijing.
Although BMW likely began plans for what would become the i3 electric car before 2010, the amount of time between concepts and prototype testing to the production release on Monday represents lightning speed for a new model launch in the automotive industry. Other automakers have shown relatively quick electric drivetrain development, but BMW also had to come up with a new design, innovate manufacturing processes, and ink deals for new carbon fiber factories along the way.
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