Your first look at BMW's i4 production model
BMW has revealed its final production-spec version of its Tesla Model 3 rival, the i4. The fully electric four-door saloon, (a glimpse of the upcoming 4-Series GranCoupe), will arrive in the autumn.
The i4 has been shown three months early of BMW’s schedule, with CEO Oliver Zipse stating that, "The decision to launch three months early was easy," and that BMW is "picking up the pace" with respect to the electrification of its line-up, Full specifications will be announced in the coming weeks.
The finished car bears strong similarities to last year’s i4 Concept, with its blue tinted BMW i styling accents helping it stand out as pure electric. BMW has also confirmed that there will be a sportier take on the i4 available too, likely to wear the ‘M’ badge. Precise technical specs remain untold, but we know the range-topping model will send up to 523bhp to both axles and offer a range of 367 miles. A 0-62mph time of around 4.0sec and top speed of more than 124mph are likely.
The i4 uses the firm’s fifth-generation eDrive electric motors and will be powered by an 80kWh battery pack, mounted low in the car’s chassis. BMW says the system (battery and motors together) has been designed to be lightweight, tipping the scales at 550kg, The i4’s electric platform also features BMW’s latest charging tech, which, like the Audi e-tron, can support rapid charging at up to 150kW. Using this system, the i4 can recover an 80 per cent charge from empty in around 35 minutes – which equates to 62 miles of range added in six minutes. The i4 is based on a modified version of the CLAR platform, An entry-level rear-wheel-drive variant with a smaller battery will also be available, as is the case with the larger iX.
The i4 will use BMW's new eighth-generation iDrive operating system, shared with the iX flagship, which allows for over-the-air updates and greatly reduces the number of physical controls in the cabin - although it retains the characteristic rotary knob that has been used for every iteration of iDrive since it was introduced 20 years ago.
The i4 will go on sale alongside the i3 hatchback, new iX3 mid-sized SUV and upcoming iX Flagship in BMW's expanding electric line-up. By 2023, the firm aim to have 12 electric vehicles on sale, with a pure EV option available in 90% of its current market segments.