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BMW i3 gets official worldwide

Even though we recently drove a near-production version of the BMW i3, the car still wore light exterior and interior camouflage. Today, BMW took off that little bit of camo and made a big announcement: The i3 will go on sale in the US for $41,350 in the second quarter of 2014. That does not include any state or federal incentives that could lower the price or the $925 destination fee. The i3 will debut with three trim levels, which BMW is referring to as Worlds: Mega (standard in the US), Giga and Tera.
The BMW i3 is chock-full of new technology afforded by its design as an EV from the start of development, which has resulted in a vehicle layout unique to the i3. BMW has named it LifeDrive architecture, and it features the Life Module and the Drive Module. The Life Module is the i3's pillar-less passenger cell, which is the first mass-produced monocoque made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP). The tougher-than-steel material is also 30-percent lighter than aluminum, which contributes to the i3's relatively light weight of 2,700 pounds (preliminary US figure) and, in turn, increases its energy efficiency. Expect more of this technology to find its way into future BMWs.
The Drive Module, a 100-percent aluminum chassis mounted under the Life Module, houses everything that makes the i3 go. It includes the 22-kilowatt, 450-pound lithium ion battery mounted as centrally as possible, and provides power to a rear-mounted electric motor that turns the rear wheels. With 170 horsepower and 184 pound-feet of torque from zero rpm, the single-gear i3 can accelerate from 0-30 miles per hour in 3.5 seconds and 0-60 mph in about 7.0 seconds, but it has a top speed of only 93 mph. BMW says the i3 has a real-world EV range of 80-100 miles, and the standard charger can fill the battery in three hours. Opt for the SAE DC Combo Fast Charger and 30 minutes is all it takes for a full charge; 20 minutes will bump the battery to 80 percent. For customers who have range anxiety, BMW gives them the option to install a 34-hp, 650cc two-cylinder generator as a range extender for the electric drive system.

Next BMW X1 caught on flatbed

The X1 had been around for four years before it was added to BMW's US lineup, so it isn't all that surprising that a new version of the company's smallest Sport Activity Vehicle is already in the works. Captured in transit on the back of a flatbed truck, these spy shots give us our first look at the next-gen X1 - codenamed F48 - which is expected to debut around 2015.
While the camouflage does a good job of obscuring most of the styling elements, we definitely see evidence of the X1's new platform. Elements like the loss of the long nose and a noticeably shrunken dash-axle gap (just compare this spy shot picture to this one from our X1 review), are good indicators that the next X1 will move to the new front-wheel-drive platform BMW is using for the new Mini and 1 Series GT. Aside from this, the overall shape is very similar to the current design, but we're sure it will pull many cues from the updated range of BMW products.

BMW details Concept X5 eDrive ahead of New York debut

Already weighing more than most other types of vehicles and with the space to accommodate the extra equipment, crossovers and SUVs arguably make for one of the more ideal platforms to transform into a hybrid. And there have been a handful of them - like the Audi Q5, Infiniti QX60/Nissan Pathfinder, Porsche Cayenne/Volkswagen Touareg, Lexus RX450h/Toyota Highlander and Cadillac Escalade/Chevy Tahoe/GMC Yukon - but by and large the majority of hybrids on the market are sedans and hatchbacks. BMW, however, looks poised to join the minority with the X5.
The Bavarian automaker showcased the X5 eDrive concept at Frankfurt last year, and as promised, has now revealed the followup it will present at the New York Auto Show in just a few days. The new Concept X5 eDrive, as BMW has now revealed, pairs a 2.0-liter turbo four good for 245 horsepower to a 95-hp electric motor to deliver a combined 340 horsepower. Its lithium-ion battery can power it for up to 20 miles and at speeds up to 75 miles per hour before the gasoline engine needs to kick in. All that without sacrificing the vehicle's utility, maintaining an almost perfectly flat loading floor with 40:20:40 split-folding rear seats, and without sacrificing much on performance, either: with a 0-62 time of seven seconds flat, the X5 eDrive concept is quicker off the line than the production X5 with the 2.5-liter turbodiesel and just a tenth off of the 3.0-liter turbodiesel.
With the full technical details now released (you can delve into it all in the press release below), the only question remains when BMW will actually put the X5 eDrive into production. Given its appearance in New York, though, we gather that whenever it does reach showrooms, it'll reach American ones as well.