BMW looks set to sell its beautiful plug-in hybrid sports car after displaying an updated, production-ready version of the gullwing four-seater which first appeared at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show.
The stunning external looks cover an equally stunning powertrain which features a three-cylinder turbo-diesel engine with hybrid synchronous motor for the front axle and a full hybrid engine at the rear.
With a combined output of 241kW, the ‘BMW Vision EfficientDynamics’ concept vehicle takes just 4.8-second to accelerate from zero to 100km/h and returns fuel consumption as low as 3.76l/100kms.
The lithium-polymer battery is housed centrally and can be fully recharged in under three hours. BMW says the eye-catching gullwing sports car has a pure-electric range of 50 kilometres and the 24-litre diesel fuel tank permits a total range of 700 kilometres.
BMW already sells Active Hybrid versions of the 7 Series and X6. In addition, the company says the current field testing of its MINI E will soon be expanded to include the BMW ActiveE – an electric version of the 1 Series Coupe.
The ActiveE (due next year) and all-new ‘Megacity’ vehicle (due for launch in 2013) will be produced at BMW’s Leipzig plant which is currently undergoing a €400 million upgrade to handle production of the electric vehicles. In a further ‘green’ move, part of the improved facilities in Leipzig will reduce energy use for the production of each vehicle by 50 per cent and water use by 70 per cent per vehicle.
BMW plans for 100 per cent of the energy used in Leipzig to come from renewable sources.
BMW’s ‘Megacity’ will be the world’s first mass volume car with a passenger compartment made from Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic (CFRP). BMW has partnered with the SGL Group to fund a further €560 million in a plant to produce the carbon fibre material.
