BMW i EfficientDynamics - i3 confirmed to be a RWD, Mid-Engine car.

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Earlier this month, I saw an i3 on the road. It was the first time I had seen an i3 since the 2014 Houston Auto Show. Quite fascinating seeing this little car in the flesh and at speed.
 
Japanese patient drawing for i5

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Why make the c-pillars different design?

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It looks freakishly tall from the rear, but perhaps it will look better once some panels are painted black.
 
So, once we see it in the metal, the most pressing question IMO:

Which car will the rear bumper look to be consuming this time?
 
http://www.carsguide.com.au/car-new...cial&utm_content=47093&utm_campaign=editorial
The NSW Police Force has a new recruit – a BMW i8 hybrid supercar capable of sprinting from 0-100km/h in 4.4 seconds.
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    2016 BMW i8 with NSW police livery. Image credit: Richard Berry.

The keys to the $300,000 petrol-electric plug-in hybrid decked-out in police livery were handed over to Rose Bay Local Area Command in a ceremony today held at BMW Sydney dealership in Rushcutters Bay.

BMW Sydney Dealer Principal Simon Macedone said the i8 was ready for duty.

“We’re very excited to partner with Rose Bay police command by delivering this exciting vehicle to them,” he said.

“It’s the perfect new member of their team.”

The BMW i8 is powered by three-cylinder turbo petrol engine and an electric motor – together they produce a combined 266kW of power and 570Nm of torque.
It definitely won’t be used in a pursuit. There will be fully operational police in the car and if there is a foot chase the police will park it and run after the offenders.

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With an aluminium chassis, carbon fibre body and a scissor doors the i8 has dramatic, futuristic looks to match its breathtaking performance. But police won’t be using it to chase bad guys any time soon, with Superintendent Brad Hodder saying the i8 will be used purely for community engagement over the next six months.

“My crime management unit will use the car to go along to open days and events,” he said.

“It provides a tool to break down barriers between police and the community. It enables the community to come up and start talking about the car. That conversation then leads to them opening up and they find out that we’re not such bad people after all.

“It definitely won’t be used in a pursuit. There will be fully operational police in the car and if there is a foot chase the police will park it and run after the offenders.”

Asked if he’d like to see the i8 out there hunting criminals, Hodder said he would but that it’s better suited as a talking point.

“Personally yeah, it would be lovely, but practically, it’s a good community car.”

While it’s unlikely a car as impractical as an i8 could be used for crime fighting duties, the search is on for a new national police car to replace the Holden Commodore and Ford Falconwhich will both be retired from service by 2020 following the end of local production.

Under consideration is the Subaru WRX, Chrysler 300 SRT and the Infiniti Q50among several others. The Ford Mustang is also back on the radar as a highway patrol vehicle following extensive testing to fix an overheating issue with the car’s gearbox.
 
Must be a fairly subtle facelift - guessing given the lower camo it's all detail changes to the bumpers etc.

The concept of facelifting a car that already looks a decade newer than anything else seems amusing to me, too.
 
Too bad you also pay a decade's difference in price for it. I was crazy about these as an electric company car until I read the 45,000 euro pricetag...
 
Cheaper than that in the UK.

Definitely still expensive, but then it is a) a BMW and b) formed largely from CFRP and aluminium, neither of which are particularly cheap.
 
I always see a white one driving around. Today, I saw a metallic blue(almost M2 metallic blue) one. Awesome little car(not as small as my Charade, but pretty narrow). I like it.
The wheels looked big. Maybe 18"?
 
You can get ridiculously cheap leases on electric i3s in California.

/tangent: I'm really curious to see how the future of these new generation cars will play out. Will there be a used market for Teslas? Or will Tesla (and the like) work to insure that their cars are never seen in poor condition. I feel like a busted-up, salvage-titled, faded Tesla on a used car lot would be very bad for their brand. Makes me think leasing is going to become more and more common as cars increasingly merge into the technology sector.
 
You can get ridiculously cheap leases on electric i3s in California.

/tangent: I'm really curious to see how the future of these new generation cars will play out. Will there be a used market for Teslas? Or will Tesla (and the like) work to insure that their cars are never seen in poor condition. I feel like a busted-up, salvage-titled, faded Tesla on a used car lot would be very bad for their brand. Makes me think leasing is going to become more and more common as cars increasingly merge into the technology sector.
The Lynk & Co. brand, seem to be thinking that way. The way people can choose to stay with that one car or continually upgrade.
 
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