can you believe it it's been six years
since the BMW i8 arrived seven years
since the i3 launched and now in 2020
BMW is ready to expand its eye portfolio
with this the concept I for ice a
concept because this is pretty much 85%
the production car that you're going to
be able to buy from next year gone is
the really radical styling from the i3
and the i8 replaced it instead with a
relatively conventional 4 Series Gran
Coupe a body BMW I is going mainstream
let's get straight to the numbers
because the i-4 features BMWs fifth
generation II drive technology what that
means is an electric motor single speed
gearbox and power electronics all housed
in a single casing it's rear-wheel drive
and a 550 kilogram 80 kilowatt-hour
lithium-ion battery is spread under the
floor
the result is an m4 whirring 523 brake
horsepower nought to 60 2 in 4 seconds
and a WL TP range of 373 miles charging
capacity is up to 150 kilowatts not as
fast as a Tesla Model S or the Porsche
ty can men but fast enough for naught to
80% in around 35 minutes let's dissect
this design a little bit then and we'll
start at the front where else with the
grill if I can call it that actually has
no air intake properties of course
because this is an electric car doesn't
need the cooling what it does is house a
variety of sensors BMW calls it an
intelligence panel I say it's not quite
as scary as it was on the 4 Series Coupe
a concept but still reminds me a bit of
a pantomime Dame make of that what you
will
you'll also notice this blue highlight
line that runs around the grille that is
used on the exterior of the car to
highlight the points that make it that
denote it is an electric car so on the
blanked out grille along the side sills
suggesting the skateboard battery that's
under the floor there and on the
diffuser at the back where you'd
normally have exhaust pipes moving on
around the side yes 21 inch Aero
I think this is gonna be a feature we're
gonna see a lot more of on electric cars
manufacturers making a design point of
arrow wheels because if you can save
precious drag in this area traditionally
the most turbulent area on the car well
then you can increase your range by a
few precious miles carrying on and will
fly past this area because that is where
the car looks most conventional and come
round the back just two more things I
want to show you here the first is these
super thin l-shaped taillights which
look very crisp and very nice and the
second is this the bads the BMW badge
it's an all new BMW logo get up close
and you'll see it's much more 2d than it
was before and here it's got a
transparent see-through application so
you can see the paint color underneath
that's because the I brand that's all
about being friendly and airy and light
and approachable this is the first time
you've seen the logo and then it's going
to be rolled out across other models
so overall the I four different enough
two petrol and diesel four series to
give you that smug sense of satisfaction
not different enough to make you stand
out like a sore thumb
where BMW has really gone to town though
is what the sounds this car makes
teaming up with legendary film composer
Hans Zimmer it's created various sound
worlds for the eye for that include
increasingly sporty driving noises as
you move through the sport efficient and
core driving modes and various bongs and
jingles when you open the door and push
the buttons and no it won't play the
theme tune to gladiator when you start
it up we asked
if the exterior of the i-4 is the I
brand showing it's more restrained side
well in here is letting its hair down a
bit everything is dominated by this
massive screen in front of you and
you'll see the way it just curves away
to the center of the car that so it's
pointed orientated towards the driver
the i-4 is the driver's electric BMW
don't forget the eye next SUV that comes
next year that's the one that's crammed
with autonomous tech so what we got in
front of me the instrument display over
here this is the touchscreen and believe
me everything is within the touchscreen
you've got a crystal iDrive controller
down here but everything including the
climate control is up here on the screen
and as we've seen in our B's that's not
necessarily a good thing there's no
bezel around the edge of the screen
barely any bezel and there's definitely
no shroud that's because it's covered in
a non reflective glass so you simply
don't need one and the rest of the
interior well it's certainly pared back
the vents here are pretty much invisible
instead of a normal BMW gear leaver
you've just got this subtly integrated
toggle down here and these super squishy
soft rounded seats with barely any
stitching on display well that's because
this car is modern and modern means
minimalist you might imagine with this
coupe a ish roofline and a battery under
your feet that the back seats would be
cramped but they're not this is a
genuinely usable car although we suspect
that notchback boot won't be massive the
lobbying for an eye for touring starts
here
you get this sense with this car that
it's the product of everything BMW
learned and the financially challenging
but technically brilliant I 3 + i8
experiment that if you want to make
money from electric cars well you need
to give them a more usable range and you
need to make them more economically in
existing factories which is why this
will be built in Munich alongside the
3-series and for series only deviating
from the production line to have its
batteries and motors installed so BMWs
assault on the evey mass market starts
now this year we're going to get the
mini e we're going to get the IX 3 later
and then next year we're gonna have the
i4 and the I next this is no longer just
a toe in the water this is BMW pulling
on its budgie smugglers and diving right
in
you