The world already saw the latest i3 city car concept in London and Paris and the i8 Spyder via a Web reveal earlier this year. North America, however, has yet to welcome the latest iterations of BMW's green concepts ashore. That will all change in a few weeks. BMW plans to bring both vehicles to New York, the only U.S. stop on its world "Born Electric" tour.
The Born Electric tour has already whisked through Rome, Dusseldorf and Tokyo, and it will land in New York on November 13 to 18 at 1095 Avenue of the Americas. In addition to showing the i8 Spyder and i3 concepts, BMW will use the United States' largest city as the backdrop for discussions about the future of urban mobility. It will host technological demonstrations and interactive displays during the event, which will be open to the public.
Tying in to the technological and sustainable focus of the greater event, BMW also plans to host a "hackathon." The contest will challenge developers to design apps based on addressing some of the most pressing environmental concerns of major cities. A panel of judges will pick winners based on the app's originality, their ability to clearly articulate what it does, and whether the app is native to iOS and Android operating systems. Those interested can find more information at http://sustainhack.eventbrite.com/#.
BMW says that the i3 and i8 will be the first electric and hybrid-electric production vehicles to be made primarily from carbon. Very different takes on sustainable transportation, the i3 is a small fully electric city car, while the i8 is a performance-oriented plug-in hybrid sports car. The i3 will be available for purchase in 2013 and the i8 in 2014.
For more information about the i3 and i8 designs, read our in-depth look at the concepts.
Source: BMW