Earlier this year, we saw images of BMW i4 test
mules on a trailer, and it looks like the prototypes are now out and about
undergoing tests. The spy photographers caught the electric sedan, the
production version of the i Vision Dynamics concept, running around in Munich,
and they even scored photos of the interior.
The car will be markedly
different from the show car – and look rather like a next-gen 4 Series Gran
Coupé even though it’s still wearing plenty of camouflage. Firstly, the
glasshouse omits the distinctive B-pillar kinks, so it no longer mirrors the
shape of the conjoined double kidney grille.
The headlights are also larger than the concept’s
slitlike items, and it’s also unlikely that the polarising full-height
“grilles” will be retained. At the rear, one can spot regular L-shaped tail
lights and a tailgate instead of a regular bootlid, along with a hilarious
printed-on “exhaust pipe”.
Of bigger news is the interior, which will lose the
modernist, minimalist aesthetic of the current i3 and i8 and become more
closely aligned with BMW’s mainstream lineup. In fact, the dashboard has been
lifted wholesale from the new G20 3 Series, complete with the large twin
displays, the geometric chrome-trimmed air vents and the new control panel
surrounding the stubby gearlever. Expect the production model to sport a few
unique trim and upholstery options to distance itself from its more humdrum
brethren.
No technical details have been revealed just yet,
but the car should feature the automaker’s fifth-generation electric tech,
which will offer among other things a choice of three modular battery kits with
varying capacities, ranging from 60 kWh (approximately 450 km range) and 90 kWh
(approximately 550 km range) to 120 kWh (approximately 700 km range).
By comparison, the i Vision Dynamics boasted a 600
km operating range, a zero-to-100 km/h time of four seconds and a top speed of
200 km/h. The i4 will arrive a year after the iX3, and around the same time as
the production version of last year’s Vision iNEXT.
