BMW Concept i4 hints at 2021 production sedan
The BMW Concept i4’s coming out party was supposed to be at the Geneva Motor Show, but with that event abruptly cancelled over coronavirus concerns, alternative plans were made.
One thing was for sure: the party would and did go on, albeit in digital news conference form, with BMW chief executive Oliver Zipse unveiling the all-electric, fourdoor coupe concept at company headquarters in Munich. Given the advanced technological nature of the Concept i4, a digital news conference almost felt more fitting than a traditional car show reveal.
WHAT IS IT?
The newest addition to BMW’S growing i brand portfolio, though in concept form, the i4 is a fourdoor “Gran Coupe” with a reported all-electric range of 600 kilometres (on the European test cycle), a horsepower output of 530 and a zero to 100 km/h sprint time of four seconds flat.
With the recent announced discontinuation of the i8 model, that leaves just the quirky i3 in BMW’S ambitious all-electric brand at the moment, however, an i4 based on this concept will be going into production next year. It will be joined by the i1 and the ix3 SUV in what BMW has announced will be 12 fully electric and 13 plug-in hybrids coming to showrooms in the next four years.
WHY DOES IT MATTER?
It matters most in that it is the first time we’ve seen the i brand’s design language translated from a current gas-powered BMW model, in this case the 4-Series Gran Coupe. The i3 and i8 were completely out-of-the-box designs, unrelated to any current or past BMW, which served a purpose for initial launch of the i brand. But the time had to come when an i model would appeal to a traditional BMW owner, and the Concept i4 signals that time is now.
Of course, some of those Bimmer traditionalists, and the blogs that cater to stuck-in-the-mud BMW fanboys, will no doubt be up in arms about the Concept i4’s interpretation of the brand’s iconic kidney grille, to say nothing of the i4’s two-dimensional and transparent BMW badge on the body and steering wheel. But for the rest of us, the bold and sinewy exterior — with its great Frozen Light Copper paint job — and the minimalist and inspired interior of the Concept i4 provide real hope that BMW is (at long last) emerging from being lost in a design wilderness of sorts.
The beautiful dashboard-mounted curved display hints at the kind of interactive displays, not only in i brands but across the BMW model line, most likely coming in the near future. As will the use of the concept’s advanced tech display’s non-reflective glass, which removes the need for a shroud to shade the display from light.
WHEN IS IT COMING?
In this form, never. However, it doesn’t take much imagination to envision the coming-next-year production i4 looking very much like this concept. Sure, some of the spacey interior design cues will make way for more real-world ones, but I’m guessing not many.
That said, the cloth/leather microfibre seats most likely aren’t up to the wear and tear of a production vehicle. The exterior, however, looks ready to go today in a production car. Bring it on.
SHOULD YOU BUY IT?
When the production i4 comes to Canadian showrooms and if you’re in the market for a pricey all-electric, zero-emission Gran Coupe with German lineage and head-turning looks, by all means. I’m guessing you won’t be alone.
MORE EV NEWS
The District of North Vancouver invested heavily in an electric-vehicle fleet to save money and lower its greenhouse gas emissions. The Plugged In podcast will feature the district’s energy manager and fleet operations manager, who will talk about whether they have succeeded. There were some unexpected benefits to harnessing electricity to power nearly 10 per cent of the entire fleet of vehicles.
Plugged In is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher and Google Podcasts.