BMW has been testing it’s much anticipated i4 electric car for many years, and now the BMW has released heavily camouflaged images of the vehicle rigorously tested ahead of it’s 2021 release. BMW also started showing some eye-popping specs — namely, 600 kilometers (373 miles) of range and a hefty 530 horsepower.
This range is extremely impressive, BMW also states the i4 only has an 80kWh battery pack. (For reference, Tesla recently squeezed a similar 373 miles out of its own 100kWh battery pack.) There are a few factors that encompass this vehicle. One, BMW is thus basing the i4 range figure on the European testing cycle, which tends to return more generous estimates. Albeit, If this is the case, then the actual EPA-estimated range of the vehicle will be closer to 300 miles after all the testing is completed. However it’s still impressive, but not the 400 mile range as touted.
BMW thus also states it has made “significant advancements” in its electric powertrain. The i4 will use the fifth generation of BMW’s battery pack / electric motor technology, which the company has honed over the years on the i3 EV. Specifically, BMW states it’s using a high-voltage battery setup on the i4, similar to the approach Porsche took with the Taycan’s battery. It’s certainly possible BMW has made enough technological progress to squeeze so much range out of a battery pack of that size.
BMW has thus delayed electric vehicles to the side after releasing it’s i3 in late 2013, adding to that BMW CEO also stepped down in early 2019, so in many words, essentially admitting that the company fell behind the curve. (Another reason I’m skeptical: this range figure is the same that BMW touted when it revealed the iVision Dynamics concept car in 2017, which is what the i4 is based on. And production specs almost never wind up rivaling concept specs.) BMW is also claiming the 530 horsepower is coming from one 390kW electric motor, which is another bold claim I’m eager to watch it nail to the wall as we get closer to the i4’s debut.
This fifth-generation tech will also show up in BMW’s sleek new iNext SUV and the iX3, an electric SUV destined for China, both of which were also present at the winter testing.
BMW enthusiast have waited for almost a decade now for BMW to follow up on the i3 electric SUV and also its hybrid i8 sports car. The BMW i4 has been rumored for seemingly just as long. BMW finally said it was coming in 2021 at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, but it’s been a relatively slow drip since then.
The new camouflaged images help ground the i4 in the real world testing situations.At the 2019 LA Auto Show, BMW seems to be implying that there’s no hope of us seeking a glimpse of the electric car in the flesh this week. (Mercedes-Benz did the exact thing at the 2018 Geneva Motor Show when it thus released cold-weather testing images of the EQC electric.) Instead, However BMW is likely holding the full reveal for its own event or for one of the German auto shows that’s closer to its home turf. Albeit much speculation around the car will carry on, alongside continued hearsay on how and why BMW was left behind on electric cars.
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