When the first production version of the BMW i5 rolls off the assembly line in October this year (ten years after the trailblazing i3), it will mark the provisional culmination of 50 years of electrification development work at BMW.
It all began at the 1972 Olympic Games in Munich, where the BMW starting line-up included two electrically powered BMW 1602 vehicles. The converted models served as support vehicles and camera cars in various long-distance events. However, with lead batteries weighing 350 kg and a range of around 60 km, they were hardly ready for production.
BMW, therefore, launched a series of research and development projects to bring more efficient technology for electric drive systems to the road. In 1975, an experimental vehicle built on a BMW LS platform was fitted with new batteries and a new electric motor. Then, in the 1980s, a project was launched to provide insights into using sodium-sulphur energy storage devices. To trial the concept, eight BMW 325iX-based vehicles were converted and proved their merit as delivery vehicles for the German postal service.
The results prompted BMW to start designing a pure electric vehicle. The first purpose-built solution was the BMW E1, unveiled at the 1991 Frankfurt Show, with impressive performance capabilities for the time: An output of 32 kW, 150 Nm torque, and a range of about 160 km. The project also featured 25 converted production models based on the BMW 3 Series. Between 1992 and 1996, eight BMW 325 models were in service on the island of Rügen to test out various motors, transmissions, and batteries under everyday conditions. This project concluded with the BMW Electric in 1997.
All the findings from the BMW pilot projects were channelled into the development process, as embodied by the MINI E and BMW Concept ActiveE, and in 2013 the BMW i3 production model was launched. Since then, a plethora of EV models followed (currently ten models in six model series), all with astronomical power figures (up to 485 kW and 1,100 Nm of torque as in the i7 M70 xDrive, with a range of around 480 km) compared to the original 1602 Eletro-Antrieb concept car.
Report by FERDI DE VOS | Images © BMW
