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Nov 29, 2012– Los Angeles, USA (Techreleased) – 2012 could go down as the year in which BMW finally achieved their goal of making a car a rock star. Not only have their latest concept models, the i3 and the i8 Spyder gone electric but the company have also embarked on a continent-hopping tour. Sticking to […]
BMW i8 Spyder Go Green
Nov 29, 2012– Los Angeles, USA (Techreleased) – 2012 could go down as the year in which BMW finally achieved their goal of making a car a rock star. Not only have their latest concept models, the i3 and the i8 Spyder gone electric but the company have also embarked on a continent-hopping tour.
Sticking to the rock-star metaphor, what better end point to the tour of the new i3 electric and i8 hybrid models than Los Angeles?
The LA Auto Show, starting November 30, will give West Coast US audiences a close-up look at the cars which are proving once and for all that green and clean doesn’t mean compromising on fun.
The plug-in hybrid i8 features a 1.5-litre three-cylinder 180 kWh turbo-charged engine plus an electric motor in the front, giving it a performance comparable with the current BMW M3.
To make it even more enticing, the concept i8 Spyder is fitted with a host of tech wizardry, such as an integrated smartphone app which informs drivers how much battery time they have remaining along with the location of the nearest charging stations.
Not content with hogging the hybrid limelight, BMW also look set to move ahead of the competition in the full electric market. The i3 is squarely aimed at residents of modern megacities, such as Tokyo, New York, LA and Shanghai.
Made of light yet durable materials such as carbon-fibre for the chassis, it can carry four people comfortably, while its 100-mile range on a fully charged battery is extraordinarily good for the full electric market.
As with the i8, there will be no appreciable difference between the concept model on show and the road model that is due to go on sale sometime in 2014. Lean, green, and mean seems to be the best description for these two rock-star cars, which look certain to set an early standard in a market that can only expand in the coming years.
