After a couple of months of teasing glimpses offered on a website with the cheeky address of www.dontblogaboutthis.com, BMW has announced that its Vision EfficientDynamics concept vehicle will go into production. The plug-in hybrid vehicle that made its debut at IAA last year as a concept vehicle is a four-seater (2+2) sports car conceived to combine the performance of a BMW M Car with the fuel economy and emission management exceeding that of a small car.
Standing just 1.24m (4 ft) tall the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics is powered by the company’s ActiveHybrid technology already found on the X6 and X7. IN the Vision EfficientDynamics a 3-cylinder turbo diesel with a hybrid synchronous motor at the front axel is combined with a full-hybrid engine at the rear axel for an overall system output of 241 kW/328 bhp. It can accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) in 4.8 seconds and boasts an average fuel consumption (EU test cycle KV01) of 3.76 liters/100 km (75.1 mpg) and a CO2 emission rating of 99 grams per kilometer.
The vehicle’s lithium-polymer rechargeable battery is housed centrally in a longitudinal chassis element and is said to be fully rechargable from a conventional power socket in just 2.5 hours. When being powered solely from the batteries the vehicle can run emission free for up to 50 km (31 miles), while the range can be extended an extra 650 km (404 miles) thanks to the 24-liter diesel tank.
BMW hasn’t revealed when the Vision EfficientDynamics will roll off the production line, how much it will cost, or how many will be produced. We'll keep you posted on that front.
We're not sure of the availability (or demand for) the paint job on the road-ready technology showcase vehicle (pictured)... or whether or not there's a catchier name is in the works.
