BMW i3 and i8 Electric Vehicles

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BMW has officially revealed their debut entrants into the electric car market, the BMW i3 and i8 Electric Vehicles. What has been a long-time in the making has finally arrived, making those early renders of the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics Concept a real, living vehicle. The BMW i-series will come in two flavors, a 4-seater crossover utility vehicle, the BMW i3, and a sportier coupe, the BMW i8.

The BMW i3 will feature a fully electric drivetrain with an extended range of up to 140 miles per charge. It is designed with the urban commuter in mind, a driver who makes short trips in and around a city that won’t be limited by the electric-only range. It seats four comfortably, with buckets in the back, in addition to 200 liters of storage space behind the rear seats. The acceleration numbers of 7.9 second to 62mph don’t leap off the page, but this is a green machine, not a sport vehicle. The i3’s battery will charge to 80% capacity in one hour with a charging option, otherwise a full charge will require six hours on the plug.

The sportier BMW i8, the production version of the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics concept, is a plug-in hybrid with a petrol engine that supplements its electric heartbeat. For the first 20 miles of travel, the vehicle can run in all-electric mode. This one is built for electric performance, achieving 62mph in 4.6 seconds with a fuel consumption rate of over 100mpg. It’s remarkable, it’s sexy, it’s fast, it’s green– it’s the newest BMW. And we’re in love.

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