Photo: Valentino Rajan via Behance
Let's face it; the first fully electric car from BMW didn't get a lot of things right. It had a low maximum range and only OK performance, but its worst offense was the exterior design.
We are talking, of course, about the i3 city car. The fact it followed one of the most attractive BMWs of the last few decades, the i8, made its appearance even more baffling. How could the same design department draw both of these vehicles remains one of the automotive world's biggest mysteries.
The i3 made up for its shortcomings with an excellent interior offering decent versatility given its dimensions and a lively driving experience thanks to its rear-wheel-drive architecture, big wheels, and very thin tires. The model has received many updates since its introduction, but almost all of them focused on improving the range, leaving the exterior design untouched.
Well, now that the iX is out, we know the new design direction chosen by BMW's hierarchy for its electric program. It's up to everyone to decide whether it's an improvement over the i3 or not, but one thing we should all be able to agree on: it's not as good as it could have been.
The Bavarian brand has plenty of history behind it and cool models to draw inspiration from. Plus, BMW has done it before: just look at the Z8 roadster and how nicely it managed to capture the essence of the 507 model from the late '50s. Why not do something similar for its electric lineup?
Well, the answer is probably pretty simple and it has to do with the industry's fixation on making EVs look like they are time travelers from a not so distant future instead of focusing on making them beautiful - and nothing more.
This rendering of the BMW iDreißig - or i30, if we're to use the actual number (which we will from now on) - belongs to Italian independent designer Valentino Rajan. Despite the "i" nameplate, its creator didn't make the i30 with electric vehicles in mind - as those two twin exhausts clearly demonstrate. However, since it's a significant departure from the current design language used by BMW for its conventional models, we felt it would have been a great fit for EVs.
Seal-off that grille and the vents in the hood and remove the exhaust, and you've got yourself a great little electric Z car. The rest of its design sure fits the bill: it looks aerodynamic enough but, most importantly, it is very different from what we've become used to from the Bavarians while also quintessentially BMW.
In the absence of any details from the author, we're left scratching our heads as to where the name comes from. It could be a reference to the E30 model, but looking at the i30, they don't show many similarities. In fact, the E21 with its double rounded headlights and slanted nose would have been a much better choice. Writing the name in German, on the other hand, would have been a problem: iEinundzwanzig is not as sexy as iDreißig.
In case this sounds just like an excuse for a thinly veiled rant about the awful exterior design of the iX, you're not entirely wrong. After all, we took an ICE-powered rendering and turned it into an EV so that we could complain about what's currently going on at BMW. Now, imagine an entire range of "i" models with this front and try not to be angry at the Bavarians yourself.
The i3 made up for its shortcomings with an excellent interior offering decent versatility given its dimensions and a lively driving experience thanks to its rear-wheel-drive architecture, big wheels, and very thin tires. The model has received many updates since its introduction, but almost all of them focused on improving the range, leaving the exterior design untouched.
Well, now that the iX is out, we know the new design direction chosen by BMW's hierarchy for its electric program. It's up to everyone to decide whether it's an improvement over the i3 or not, but one thing we should all be able to agree on: it's not as good as it could have been.
The Bavarian brand has plenty of history behind it and cool models to draw inspiration from. Plus, BMW has done it before: just look at the Z8 roadster and how nicely it managed to capture the essence of the 507 model from the late '50s. Why not do something similar for its electric lineup?
Well, the answer is probably pretty simple and it has to do with the industry's fixation on making EVs look like they are time travelers from a not so distant future instead of focusing on making them beautiful - and nothing more.
This rendering of the BMW iDreißig - or i30, if we're to use the actual number (which we will from now on) - belongs to Italian independent designer Valentino Rajan. Despite the "i" nameplate, its creator didn't make the i30 with electric vehicles in mind - as those two twin exhausts clearly demonstrate. However, since it's a significant departure from the current design language used by BMW for its conventional models, we felt it would have been a great fit for EVs.
Seal-off that grille and the vents in the hood and remove the exhaust, and you've got yourself a great little electric Z car. The rest of its design sure fits the bill: it looks aerodynamic enough but, most importantly, it is very different from what we've become used to from the Bavarians while also quintessentially BMW.
In the absence of any details from the author, we're left scratching our heads as to where the name comes from. It could be a reference to the E30 model, but looking at the i30, they don't show many similarities. In fact, the E21 with its double rounded headlights and slanted nose would have been a much better choice. Writing the name in German, on the other hand, would have been a problem: iEinundzwanzig is not as sexy as iDreißig.
In case this sounds just like an excuse for a thinly veiled rant about the awful exterior design of the iX, you're not entirely wrong. After all, we took an ICE-powered rendering and turned it into an EV so that we could complain about what's currently going on at BMW. Now, imagine an entire range of "i" models with this front and try not to be angry at the Bavarians yourself.
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