As part of BMW’s opening celebration for their first i-Store in London, a particular BMW i3 Concept has been abducted and subsequently returned only to fulfil its new found purpose for its existence – to luxuriate their driver and occupants.
For one thing, the exterior of the i3 Concept has been untouched, but the interior seems to have been restyled along the lines of what Gucci or Coach would come up with – something warm, natural and perhaps even soothing to sight and touch.
The interior has that natural feel even though there was minimal usage of wood that came from the Eucalyptus tree, grown in Europe instead of having it imported from “down-unda”.
But what really pops into view is the wonderfully tanned leather that wraps around the front and rear bench seats which help ease ingress and egress. The leather’s tanning process utilised a special olive tree extract instead of strong chemicals that could literally burn right through our non-bovine texture.
The driver gets three displays before him that indicates vehicle information, climate control and entertainment options, doing away with the need of a centre console and allowing for a tremendously spacious cabin.
Engine performance still remains the same with an electric motor providing 170bhp and 240Nm of torque, which propels the i3 Concept to 100kmh in just 8.0s with a top speed of roughly 150kmh.
BMW is claiming that their i3’s lithium-ion batteries can be fully charged somewhere in the 6-hours vicinity with just a normal socket to allow a range of 130km – 160km, dependant on how heavy your foot decides to be.
Of course, BMW’s not going to leave the quick-charge option out of the equation, but just don’t expect to get your usual maximum range when compared to a 6-hour charge.
