According to the folks who follow all things BMW, the automaker's Vision Efficient Dynamics (VED) concept has been given the greenlight and a few details on the green machine have come along for the ride.
The VED's will reportedly carry either the i1 or i100 name, and that moniker will be placed on a chassis made of carbon fiber and powered first by either by a gas hybrid or fully electric motor. About a month ago it was rumored the coupe would first be available with the drivetrain from the ActiveHybrid 5 Concept, which itself was derived from the ActiveHybrid 7 Series. That option would be good for 300 horsepower thanks to a TwinPower turbo paired with a 40 kW electric motor and running through an eight-speed transmission.
The ultimate hybrid variant, however, would be a 1.5-liter, three-cylinder motor with 181 horsepower, paired to two electric motors each putting out 93 ponies. Output would be channled through a double-clutch transmission, and while the hybrid is supposed to be all-wheel drive, a rear-wheel drive model is supposedly planned as well – perhaps the sole electric version.
All that juice in a carbon fiber body shouldn't disappoint, and predicted numbers are a 0-to-62 mph run of four seconds, 58 miles per gallon, yet a lower-than-expected 250-mile range. The price for all that green when it appears in 2013: from €125,000 to €175,000 ($174,145 to $243,817 U.S. at today's rates). Which is why we suppose it makes (rumored) sense that BMW would only plan on building "30,000 units within five years."
