BMW will host a special sneak-preview event on Nov. 9th in New York City to unveil for the first time in North America what it considers to be the cars of the future – the BMW i3 and BMW i8 concept vehicles.
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One week later, both vehicles will make their official North American debuts at the Los Angeles Auto Show on November 16th and 17th. However, featured at this special sneak-preview event which will also include a presentation on the entire BMW i brand, a walk-around of both vehicles by their exterior designer, Richard Kim, and presentation by BMW Manager of Electric Vehicle Operations & Strategy, Rich Steinberg.
According to the BMW Group media release, the BMW i8 Concept, which is also the successor to the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics car featured in Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol starring Tom Cruise to be released in December, is a sleek, low-slung, silver and bright blue sports car with flip-up doors.
The BMW i3 Concept, previously known as the “megacity vehicle,” is more compact for congested city driving and features the same color scheme with large glass doors that open “coach” style, i.e. the rear doors opening in the opposite direction from the front.
Basis for the Concepts
In 2025, 8 billion people will live on the planet; 4.5 billion will live in cities. There will be 1.8 billion cars on the roads. In order to address the personal mobility needs of people living within the world’s most densely populated urban city centers, BMW created BMW i – the sustainable new sub-brand whose mission is to develop visionary vehicles and mobility services.
The Fully-Electric BMW i3 and Hybrid-Electric BMW i8 are the First Purpose-Built Electric and Hybrid-Electric Vehicles to be Made Primarily of Carbon Fiber. Because of its light weight, carbon fiber technology is expected to fundamentally change the car industry, allowing automakers to create lighter, more efficient and sustainable vehicles with reduced fuel consumption and lower emissions.
This is emabrgoed information; meaning, I cannot release any photos just yet. So, stay tuned to TorqueNews for coverage of this event, as our correspondents will be in L.A for the show and I will avail the photos from the New York preview.
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About the Reporter: After 39 years in the auto industry as a design engineer, Frank Sherosky now trades stocks, futures and writes articles, books and ebooks like, "Perfecting Corporate Character," "Awaken Your Speculator Mind", and "Millennial World Order" via authorfrank.com. He may be contacted here by email: FrankS@TorqueNews.com or via his Twitter i.d. @Authorfranks
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