Photo: bmwi3.blogspot.com
First of all, you should know nobody was hurt in this incident. The only two “victims” were the family’s cars. As it seems, one is still recognizable, a BMW 3 Series, but the other one, a BMW i3, has completely disappeared, leaving behind only a pile of debris.
Second of all, if you hurry to jump to conclusions, you should know the fire had nothing to do with the car itself or the car’s charging equipment. It all started from a trash can full of ashes that probably weren’t completely extinguished after a fireworks event.
But let’s get back to the car. Or what is left of it. Because the i3 doesn’t have a conventional steel body frame, after the plastic body panels and the CFRP Life Cell simply melted away, it’s very shocking to see how little is left of the car.
If you own an EV and after reading this the only thing that crosses your mind is to sell it quickly, you should find out that there have been very few incidents in which an electric car burst into flames. Apart from some Fisker Karmas and a Tesla or two, no other such events have been reported. Another thing that you should probably know is that, in those cases, the fires were caused by severe impacts that compromised the battery packs.
According to bmwi3.blogspot, the BMW i3 owner said that, right after the fire had been extinguished, the vehicle's aluminum frame and battery tray were still intact. Also, although the resin that holds the carbon fiber together melted away, the actual strands of carbon fiber were mostly intact.
When the car was being developed, to make it as lightweight as possible, BMW used carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, or CFRP. Then, the carmaker bragged about the i3 being the first ever mass production car to have most of its internal structure made out of this innovative material. After seeing the adjacent photos, maybe you’ll not think about this being so cool anymore.
But let’s get back to the car. Or what is left of it. Because the i3 doesn’t have a conventional steel body frame, after the plastic body panels and the CFRP Life Cell simply melted away, it’s very shocking to see how little is left of the car.
If you own an EV and after reading this the only thing that crosses your mind is to sell it quickly, you should find out that there have been very few incidents in which an electric car burst into flames. Apart from some Fisker Karmas and a Tesla or two, no other such events have been reported. Another thing that you should probably know is that, in those cases, the fires were caused by severe impacts that compromised the battery packs.
According to bmwi3.blogspot, the BMW i3 owner said that, right after the fire had been extinguished, the vehicle's aluminum frame and battery tray were still intact. Also, although the resin that holds the carbon fiber together melted away, the actual strands of carbon fiber were mostly intact.
When the car was being developed, to make it as lightweight as possible, BMW used carbon-fiber reinforced plastic, or CFRP. Then, the carmaker bragged about the i3 being the first ever mass production car to have most of its internal structure made out of this innovative material. After seeing the adjacent photos, maybe you’ll not think about this being so cool anymore.
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