New pictures have emerged that show renderings of a potential future BMW model that could be the much-rumoured purely electric i5, taking shape here with the distinct look of a wider elongated i3.
These images pertain to a patent filing done in Japan. The German marque had preemptively filed for their rights to multiple names for the ‘i’ sub-brand in recent months despite quite needing all of them.
Back to this future BMW model. The way’s it’s designed certainly links it, visually, to its most recent forays into electric propulsion and, even more radically, could be interpreted as a BMW version of the Toyota Prius due to its shape and proportions.
We don’t know if this car, if it ever reaches production, will be a fully electric model powered by a bank of batteries (and a roof-wide solar panel?) or whether BMW would include a small internal combustion motor to fall back onto should it run out of juice before reaching a charge point. Another possibility is that their fuel cell technologies will make an appearance.
Be that in doubt, what is the subject of little debate, though, is the inclusion of a more advanced autonomous driving system that BMW would have developed into maturity by the time of this car’s possible debut.
In addition to bringing its electrification technologies to its existing line-up of passenger cars and SUVs first by way of convergence before predicted assimilation, German premium automaker BMW intends on expanding its ‘i’ sub-brand.
Currently, only the BMW i3 city car (range-extended EV) and i8 sports car (hybrid) occupy the range, and it wasn’t long before a more mainstream i5 four-door was rumoured to be in the works. The commotion caused by an EV alternative ‘normal’ enough to replace a typical petrol or diesel-powered car made by the Munich outfit was compelling, but had died down relatively quickly.
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