BMW Plans To Show Future Electric Cars in Los Angeles

BMW’s electric and plug-in hybrid prototype cars from its BMW i brand will make their North American debuts at this week’s Los Angeles International Auto Show. The car make will present the pure-electric powered i3 compact city car and the hybrid i8 sports car this Wednesday at 4:10 p.m. PST.

The company says the i3 and i8, which it first revealed in Frankfurt last summer, represent the first purpose-built electric and hybrid cars made mainly of carbon fiber. The i3 is slated to go on sale in 2013 with the i8 to follow in 2014.  

The BMW i8 Concept — which is also the successor to the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics car featured in the coming film “Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol” – is low-slung and exotic-looking, with doors that flip upward. The i3, previously known as the “megacity vehicle,” has a small footprint designed for driving in congested city traffic. Its large glass doors are hinged at the rear for easier entry and exit.

BMW said it will also show its 560-horsepower M5 sport sedan in Los Angeles. The hotrod luxury car is designed to combine three attributes rarely found in one car: sports-car performance, long-distance comfort and fuel efficiency.

Source: wsj.com