The team, headed by Ulrich Kranz is already well into prototyping with both i3 and i8 undergoing early on-road trials in Miramas, BMW‘s own proving ground near Marseilles, and near the Arctic Circle. First spy shots taken of the car, show a heavily camouflaged vehicle that still fails to disguise its radical proportions, large-diameter skinny wheels and the extrovert aerodynamics.
The BMW i programme has been a huge undertaking for BMW, not only because of the revolutionary engineering and design concept, but also because of the scale of the whole operation which will include the production of about 100, 000 vehicles per year.
The i3 will also be joined by the i1, i5 and i8 to round up the model range that will have a significant impact on the emerging green car market. The proposed i range features: The i3 four-door hatchback in late 2013, the i8 two-door 2+2-seater coupe in early 2014, The i5 high-roof long-wheelbase five-seater wagon/MPV hybrid potentially in 2015 and the i1 2+2-seater short-wheelbase city car potentially in 2016.
The relation between i1, i3 and i5 is said to resemble that between Polo, Golf and Golf plus/Touran.
In terms of competition, the i3 will face the even more prudent Audi A2 expected in 2014.
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