BMW i3

The BMW i3, previously Mega City Vehicle (MCV), is a five-door urban electric car developed by the German manufacturer BMW. The i3 is part of BMW's "Project i" and was launched as a new brand, BMW i. The i3 is BMW's first zero emissions mass-produced vehicle due to its electric powertrain, and BMW is the first company to launch a volume production vehicle on the market featuring carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer to improve the vehicle's energy consumption.

The BMW i3's official range is 130 to 160 km (80 to 100 mi) under the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC), and up to 200 km (120 mi) in the most efficient driving mode. Under the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) cycle the official range is 130 km (81 mi) with combined fuel economy of 124 miles per gallon gasoline equivalent —MPGe— (1.90 L/100 km; 149 mpg _imp). BMW is offering a range extender (“REx”) option powered by a 647 cc two-cylinder gasoline engine with a small fuel tank that engages when the battery level drops to a pre-specified point, acting purely as a generator to produce electricity to extend the range to between 260 to 290 km (160 to 180 mi) in everyday driving conditions. Under EPA testing cycle, the i3 REx total range is 240 km (150 mi).As of June 2015, the BMW i3 is the most fuel efficient EPA-certified vehicle of all years regardless of fuel type, and the i3 REx is the most efficient EPA-certified current year vehicle with a gasoline engine.

BMW

Bayerische Motoren Werke AG (German pronunciation: [baˈjɛɐ̯ɪʃə mɔˈtɔʁn̩ ˈvɛɐ̯kə]; German for Bavarian Motor Works), usually known under its abbreviation BMW, is a German luxury automobile, motorcycle, and engine manufacturing company founded in 1916. Headquartered in Munich, Bavaria, Germany, it also owns and produces Mini cars and serves as the parent company of Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. BMW produces motorcycles under BMW Motorrad, and plug-in electric cars under the BMW i sub-brand. It is one of the best-selling luxury automakers in the world. The company is a component of the Euro Stoxx 50 stock market index.

History

BMW was established as a business entity following a restructuring of the Rapp Motorenwerke aircraft manufacturing firm in 1917. After the end of World War I in 1918, BMW was forced to cease aircraft-engine production by the terms of the Versailles Armistice Treaty. The company consequently shifted to motorcycle production as the restrictions of the treaty started to be lifted in 1923, followed by automobiles in 1928–29.

BMW 503

The BMW 503 is a two door 2+2 grand touring automobile from the 1950s. BMW developed the 503 alongside their 507 roadster in an attempt to sell a significant number of luxury cars in the United States. The 503 and 507 cost about twice their projected price and did not recover their costs. During production from May 1956 to March 1959, 413 units of the 503 were built. Even though it was a top and prestige model it resulted in heavy losses for BMW.

Concept and design

Hanns Grewenig, sales manager of BMW, repeatedly requested the development of a sports car based on their 501 and 502 luxury sedans. In early 1954, influenced by the public reaction to Mercedes-Benz 300SL and 190SL show cars in New York in February 1954, the management of BMW approved the project.

Max Hoffman, an influential automobile importer in the United States, saw early design sketches by BMW's Ernst Loof, and suggested to industrial designer Albrecht von Goertz that he should submit design proposals to BMW. Based on these proposals, BMW contracted Goertz to design the 503 and 507 in November 1954.

BMW 501

The BMW 501 was a luxury saloon car manufactured by BMW from 1952 to 1958. Introduced at the first Frankfurt Motor Show in 1951, the 501 was the first motor car to be manufactured and sold by BMW after the Second World War. The 501 and its derivatives, including the V8 powered BMW 502, were nicknamed “Baroque Angels” by the German public. The BMW 502 was the first postwar German car to be manufactured with a V8 engine.

While the 501 and 502 model numbers were discontinued in 1958, variations of the model, with the same platform and body, were continued until 1963.

Background

Autovelo restarts "BMW" production

Production at BMW's motor car factory in Eisenach restarted in late 1945 with pre-war BMW models. However, Eisenach was in the Soviet occupation zone, and the cars were not being manufactured by BMW AG, but by the Soviet manufacturing entity Autovelo. Despite not being made by BMW, these cars bore the BMW logo and were being sold as BMWs.

Meanwhile, BMW AG restarted manufacture on a much smaller scale, starting with pots and pans, and eventually moving up to household hardware and bicycles. Eventually, with permission from the U.S. authorities and funding from the banks under which BMW had been put into receivership, they began manufacturing motorcycles in 1948.