Photo: Catalin Garmacea
There have been rumors that BMW is working on a new car in the i range, one that would fill the gap in between the i3 and i8 but nothing we’ve heard so far was official. All we had to work with were rumors but a recent report from Automobile Magazine seems to be pretty sure in claiming some rather interesting developments. We have our doubts however.
According to them, BMW will be making a car called either i5 or i7 and it will be based on the current 5 Series long wheelbase model that is sold only in China. The reasons why engineers would choose this model are logical but they do have a major flaw. Let’s see what they had to say.
First of all, they claim that using such a platform would lower the manufacturing costs which is true. Furthermore, the company could use one of its current plants to make the new cars without investing too much which is also logical.
Up next, they mention that the extra room provided by this chassis will accommodate the batteries needed for the electric motor that will be positioned in the floor. Right again! The one mistake they made was that they started at the wrong premise.
You see, BMW didn’t invest €2 billion in creating the i sub brand from scratch for nothing. They realized that the current materials used are no longer viable and they are simply too heavy to allow their electric cars to achieve the range and dynamics needed.
Therefore, a massive investment was made in CFRP and lighter alloys along with electric powertrains. That’s all in an effort to make sure the range anxiety issue becomes non-existent.
Not only that the car they would come out would fail miserably at taking on the Model S but it would also be extremely heavy and have a low range. The one complaint people had about the F10 chassis was that it was too heavy to be considered agile.
No, the i5 will come out but it will be done in the same spirit as the i3 and i8, with a completely new chassis, lighter construction, and possibly more than one electric motor.
This is where we agree with them, claiming that there might be more than one electric motor working in tandem with a petrol one. That internal combustion unit would also work as a generator when needed, making the car either FWD, RWD or AWD, exactly like the i8.
First of all, they claim that using such a platform would lower the manufacturing costs which is true. Furthermore, the company could use one of its current plants to make the new cars without investing too much which is also logical.
Up next, they mention that the extra room provided by this chassis will accommodate the batteries needed for the electric motor that will be positioned in the floor. Right again! The one mistake they made was that they started at the wrong premise.
You see, BMW didn’t invest €2 billion in creating the i sub brand from scratch for nothing. They realized that the current materials used are no longer viable and they are simply too heavy to allow their electric cars to achieve the range and dynamics needed.
Therefore, a massive investment was made in CFRP and lighter alloys along with electric powertrains. That’s all in an effort to make sure the range anxiety issue becomes non-existent.
Would they seriously be as stupid as not to use this new technology?
It’s not really a question of if they are stupid but more like if they are willing to make this kind of a mistake. And we can tell right now that they won’t.Not only that the car they would come out would fail miserably at taking on the Model S but it would also be extremely heavy and have a low range. The one complaint people had about the F10 chassis was that it was too heavy to be considered agile.
No, the i5 will come out but it will be done in the same spirit as the i3 and i8, with a completely new chassis, lighter construction, and possibly more than one electric motor.
This is where we agree with them, claiming that there might be more than one electric motor working in tandem with a petrol one. That internal combustion unit would also work as a generator when needed, making the car either FWD, RWD or AWD, exactly like the i8.
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