Global Crisis

It may not be the color I'd choose, but I can say I'm the first person outside of BMW to drive an i3!

It had to be somebody. There can only be one person who gets to be the first person to do something. BMW's first production electric vehicle, the highly anticipated 2014 i3 has had a couple of journalist "ride alongs" where they were passengers in test mule cars, but nobody outside of BMW had been given the keys to a pre-production i3 and been allowed to drive it. Until yesterday.

BMW's North American Headquarters

I spent most of last week at the NY Auto Show and a good deal of the time there at the BMW display. I had the opportunity to speak with many of the top BMW executives as well as many of the BMW i program managers. It's no secret that BMW's US headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, NJ has had half a dozen pre-production i3's for a few months now. In fact, BMW recently announced they have made a few hundred pre-production i3's rfor final validation. While at the show, I had been asking every person I spoke to one question: "So when do I get to drive an i3?" I think I must have asked that 20 times. My persistence paid off big time. On Thursday Jacob Harb the Head of Electric Vehicle Operations and Strategy for BMW of North America came up and and asked me, "What are you doing Sunday?" "Sunday? Sunday's Easter so I'll be at my parents' house with the rest of my family, but...aaa... what do you have in mind?" I replied. He then went on to tell me if I wanted to drive a pre-production i3, I could. The only thing is I had to do it 8:00am Sunday morning. The entire BMW campus in Woodcliff Lake would be closed and no employees would be there so they could control the whole event. I would have one half hour to drive the car all over the campus (which is very large with huge empty parking lots) and could drive the car as spirited as I wanted to. Needless to say, I accepted!

My security badge

My parents live in Fairfield, NJ which is only about 25 minutes from the Woodcliff Lake Campus so this was easy to arrange and really didn't impact any family plans because it was so early. The rules were I would be allowed to take one picture of me with the car and it couldn't show any of the interior which was completely production-ready. I was given a one day security badge to allow my access to the campus and there would be one employee there to ride along with me. I had to sign some documents that would restrict me from revealing very specific functions and details, but other than that I was free to write or say whatever I wanted to. The Woodcliff Lake Campus is really perfect for this as it's in a rural area surrounded by trees and security booths at all the entrances. Nobody could see what we were doing or take pictures of us.

I arrived at the campus at 7:45am and followed the directions to the technical center where the car was to be. When I arrived there was a familiar face waiting for me. It was Dave Mustac, the technical coordinator for the ActiveE and Electric Vehicle Aftersales Specialist. I kind of felt bad that he had to come here for this on Easter Sunday, but he said he lived close and really didn't mind. I hope that was the case. The car was inside so we had to go in and get it. When we got to the room where it was, I was stunned to see six i3's all gathered together in there. Three of them had the blue swirly camouflage that we've been seeing and three others were painted bright yellow. Not exactly the color I would choose, but for this I didn't care what color it was. I assumed I would be regulated to one of the camouflaged ones, but the first car in line was a yellow one and Dave walked over to it as I followed.  The bright yellow color kind of reminded me of a crash test car, but these obviously aren't being used for that.

It was a BEV i3 although there were three with the range extender option also. He handed me the keys and smiled saying, "I know you've waited for this for a while now," and he was right. I pulled out and the first thing I did was drive on the main road that circles the campus. There were long straight-aways and I could really see how much punch it had. It didn't disappoint! It's definitely much faster than the ActiveE, obviously the result of it having the same power while being nearly 1,300lbs lighter. After circling the campus I pulled off into one of the large parking lots which was completely empty and I did some autocross-like maneuvers. It has remarkable poise even with the thin tires on 20" non-production wheels. They held tight on even the tightest turns and barely even squealed as I pushed the car to the limit. 

After about 40 minutes Dave reminded me we did have to wrap things up. I noticed I used 30% of the charge but didn't look at the mileage when I started (I was too excited) so that's not much help with the expected range. The instruments - which I can't really talk about were very impressive and I think will be well received. Please ask questions below and I'll answer whatever I can but remember there are a lot of things I can't comment about. Special thanks to Dave for taking time out of his Easter Sunday to come and make sure I didn't leave the campus with it! I can't wait till I get the next opportunity to take one for a longer (and maybe unsupervised) drive!

UPDATE: For those that haven't figured it yet, this was an April Fools joke. Unfortunately I haven't had the privilege to test drive an i3...yet. Hopefully I'll get to be one of the first that does, but we'll have to wait to see... Special thanks to follower Chris Llana who did the photoshop work for the picture above. I know he spent a while on it and it definitely tricked a good amount of people. I even got emails from some people asking if I could tell them info on the car!

Dr. Norbert Reithofer, Chairman of the Board of Management, BMW AG, addresses the media in front of the i3 concept coupe'

There has been a lot of prognosticating on the interwebs lately in regards to what BMW will have to say about the upcoming i3 at the Geneva Motor Show. Some have speculated they will unveil the actual production i3 while others have guessed BMW will simply offer a little more information, just enough to keep us interested without disclosing too much.

Well, BMW didn't reveal the production i3 (which is looking more and more likely to happen in Frankfurt in September) but the chairman of the Board of Management, Dr. Norbert Reithofer, did have this to say to the media today as he addressed the media in front of the i3 Concept Coupe':


Ladies and Gentlemen, Welcome to the BMW Group!

This is what individual mobility of tomorrow looks like and we will bring it to the road – as early as this year. This stands to show that we don’t just talk the talk. We walk the walk – because we are convinced that e-mobility is the technology of the future. We all know how the world is changing. In megacities, the car can only have a future if we take the right steps to lead it from low-emission to zero-emission technologies today. We strongly believe that sheer driving pleasure will also work without emissions.

The BMW i range offers a broad range of possibilities. What you can see here in Geneva is a variant of the BMW i3 – the BMW i3 Concept Coupe.

And I can tell you this much: Many of the components used for this Coupe are close to the series vehicle. This model highlights the great dynamics of the fully-electric BMW eDrive technology. Just like the BMW i3, the Coupe offers a maximum output of 125 kW or 170 hp. This e-drive is an in-house development – which is what customers expect from a company called Bayerische Motoren Werke AG. The underbody is fitted with lithium-ion batteries that provide the power to the e-drive.

We believe that customers will decide to buy an e-car if they receive compelling offers. Still, success is not guaranteed. But I am an engineer, and as such I know that technical progress and pioneering work require a daring approach. At the BMW Group, we have tackled the issue of e-mobility from a holistic perspective, and let me add: more so than any other automaker.

This means:

A completely new vehicle concept, consisting of Life and Drive modules.
New materials such as CFRP.
Sustainable production.

The media will have the opportunity to test-drive the BMW i3 this fall. I have already driven it quite a few times, and let me tell you: Cruising the city in this agile and noiseless sprinter is, without a doubt, sheer driving pleasure. Unfortunately, our stage is too small; otherwise, I would be happy to give you a little demonstration on the spot. Thank you very much to the BMW i3 Concept Coupe!

The BMW i range is one example of the foresight that we have at the BMW Group. We aim to provide our customers once and again with innovative solutions and attractive services, which meet their individual demands and offer them additional benefits. Proof of this is the vehicle we would like to present to you next.

So now I think we have a more defined timeline. Here is how I think it will proceed:

-Between now and the Frankfurt Auto Show in September we will continue to get little bits and pieces of i3 information, just enough to keep everyone interested and media satisfied. An occasional journalist will get to drive in one, but not for a comprehensive review.

-The production i3 is introduced in Frankfurt including specifications and pricing. 

-The media will get full access to drive and review them in October.

-European sales begin in November and US sales start in January. 



Do you agree? Post your thoughts below in the comment section.

An i3 test car going through cold weather testing in Sweden.     Photo: Autocar

For the first time ever BMW has allowed a few journalists take a ride in i3's. One of the test rides took place in Sweden where a small fleet of i3's is finishing up their final cold weather testing. BMW has actually been conducting cold weather testing of the i3's there for over two years now, as the conditions there are perfect for this kind of validation. The other drive happened in Ismaning, Germany at another of BMW's test facilities.

Kacher poses as BMW's Kranz looks on. Photo: Car Magazine

In the past two days Autocar and Car Magazine have published articles on their impression of the experience. It appears nobody was allowed to actually drive the i3, they were passengers. Autocar writer Greg Kable had Patrick Mueller, head of BMW i drivetrain development as his pilot and Georg Kacher of Car Magazine had the privilege of being chauffeured by non other than Uli Kranz, the project leader of BMW i. You can click on the above links to read the full reports and I'll summarize the revelations that I believe are most important here:

1) The i3 is faster than what we thought. Until now BMW had said two things about the speed of the i3. In one instance they said the concept i3 will go 0-100km (62mph) in 7.9 seconds. Then in most recent marketing venues we were told the "Concept i3 goes 0-60mph in under 8 seconds". It's important to note they always referenced the "Concept i3" not the production car. Now for the first time journalists have quoted 0-60 times. Kable from Autocar said the i3 will do 0-60 in 7.2 seconds and Kacher said it will do it in 7.3. The i3 is clearly going to be a quick car. My MINI-E did 0-60 in about 8 seconds and it was a blast to drive. The ActiveE is no slouch either, but it takes a little over 9 seconds to hit 60mph. Cutting two seconds off the ActiveE time will certainly make for a spirited drive. 

2) The i3 achieved an official 140 miles of range on the European test procedure. What does this mean? Well the 2011/2012 LEAF achieved a range of 107 miles on this same test and that translated into a 73 mile EPA rating. Translated to the i3 that would then give it an EPA rating of 95 miles per charge. I know you can't make that exact assumption, but if you simply roll the numbers and say the i3 achieved a range of 130%(140/107) that's what it converts to and it's all we have to go on at this time. I would be happy if that is the EPA range rating for the i3. I have contended all along that I would prefer a 100 mile EPA rating, but as long as it is over 90 miles per charge, then I believe it will do just fine. It will then have the highest EPA rating of any EV that doesn't have a Tesla powertrain.

The 20" wheels on the concept coupe

3) It will come standard with 19" wheels and 20" wheels will be optional. The concept cars had 20" wheels, but concept cars frequently have oversized wheels that don't make it to production. These wheels are huge for a car of this size. There isn't any production car anywhere that is this small and has 20" wheels! You usually only see 20" wheels on huge SUV's and trucks. The whole concept of these tall wheels and thin tires is to maximize efficiency by reducing rolling resistance and drag, while still providing great road holding for high performance driving. When questioned about how the thin tires can manage to give the car such great handling Kranz said: "It’s not rocket science. All that matters is the size of the contact patch. The 19-inch tires may be skinny, but their tall height generates the same contact patch as a low-section 16-inch MINI tire". Kacher was very impressed with the handling and he said: "The i3’s most awesome dynamic talent is its incredible grip. The made-to-measure tires are about as narrow as those of a 125cc motorbike, yet they hang on almost as tenaciously as BMW’s latest DTM racer."

This is the engine to be used for the REx

4) The range extender will be a 650cc two-cylinder gas engine borrowed from the BMW C650GT motorcycle. When used for the motorcycle it has a maximum of 60hp but on the i3 it will be highly optimized for efficiency, and will run at lower RPM's for a quiet, low vibration operation. This lowers the power output to 35bhp. It will be mounted close to the rear wheels and accompanied by a 2.3 gallon gas tank which will be positioned behind the front axle. This makes sense since the gas filler door is on the front passenger quarter panel. I imagine 35 hp will be enough to allow the i3 to continue at highway speeds of 65-70mph on flat surfaces, but I don't believe it will be enough to allow the car to climb steep grades at highway speeds. It's worth noting that BMW has hinted that the range extender is not meant for full time driving like a Chevy Volt. It's main purpose to to allow you to get you to your destination or the nearest charge point once you have exhausted the battery and allow you to do so without worry of being stranded, it's not designed for prolonged high speed driving. If you frequently need to drive more than 100 to 120 miles or so, perhaps the i3 with a range extender isn't the best plug-in choice for you, but let's wait for the official specifications before we conclude that for sure.

5) Kacher wrote: "BMW has tooled up initially to produce 30,000 cars a year, but this can be extended to 50,000 units if the i3 takes off". I had heard rumors of production estimates being 30,000/year initially but they were never really confirmed. If Kacher got this directly from Kranz then it's really the first time an official production goal was offered by BMW. It's a lofty goal. No other EV has even come close to selling that many in any year, let alone it's first year. One advantage the i3 does have though is it will be available in markets all over the world, unlike many of the other plug in cars that are available today. However the LEAF is available in many countries also and it hasn't hit the 30,000/year mark after more than two years and it's a much more affordable car then the i3 will be. It's difficult to gauge the plug in vehicle market. Government incentives play a big role and so does the proliferation of public charging infrastructure. However the i3 is the only EV in it's price class that will offer the performance and range that it does, as well as an optional range extender and the premium driving experience that is expected of a BMW so it will be interesting to watch how the sales figures progress.

Since I wasn't lucky enough to be one of the first outside BMW to hitch a ride in an i3 I'll just reprint Kacher's conclusion. He makes his thoughts on the car very clear:

"The i3 is shaping up to be a breakthrough electric car. It delivers dynamic thrills like no electric car before it. The steering seems highly involving, the drivetrain’s punch would flatten a Leaf, and the handling and road-holding seem up there with BMW’s best. Ulrich Kranz and his team appear to have succeeded in bringing pure driving pleasure to the environmentally friendly car. We’ll know for sure when we drive the car in summer 2013"

A new video of the BMW i3 Concept Coupe surfaced on YouTube today. Here it is for your viewing pleasure...

The Concept i3 charging from a custom made BMW i branded EVSE. Will this custom wall box be available?

BMW i announced today they have formed a partnership with Schneider Electric and The Mobility House to provide electric vehicle charging equipment for BMW i customers.

From The Mobility House website:

Munich. BMW i is continuing its strategy of customer-friendly electric mobility consistently. These now have a far-reaching partnership with Schneider Electric and the Electric Mobility Services The Mobility House (TMH) was closed. The agreement includes services such as testing the house wiring at the customer site, supply and installation of the charger (wall box) as well as maintenance and other services. Future owners of BMW i3 and i8 can connect their vehicle safely and quickly charge it at home or at work. The partnerships support the overall goal, at launch of the BMW i3 customer-friendly and efficient charging options offer by allowing a convenient store in the garage. The BMW i3 will be the first electric car in the market, which was conceived from the beginning as such. The launch is planned for late 2013. Alexander Efthimiou, Director of Product Management drives kits and e-mobility project, said: "With BMW i, we adopt a holistic approach to electric mobility. Our offer will not be limited to the sale of the BMW i3. In our numerous global pilot experiments with electric vehicles, we have been listening carefully and offer from launch of the BMW i3 under the umbrella term of "360 ° ELECTRIC" solutions for all customer requirements of future electric motor home, such as. Also an easy access to public charging infrastructure The professional installation of the wall box to load the BMW i3 and i8 at home is in our view one of the key factors for the successful market introduction of electric vehicles. We are pleased with Schneider Electric and The Mobility House found the two internationally experienced partner in the electric mobility in implementing our strategy to have. " "With this partnership, Schneider Electric offers all BMW customers with an efficient, customer-friendly and sustainable charging infrastructure," said Philippe Delorme, Executive Vice President, Partner Business, Schneider Electric. "BMW and Schneider Electric share the same vision for electric vehicles, and we are confident that this collaboration includes the right way." Raffeiner Thomas, CEO and founder of The Mobility House is convinced: "With BMW i electric vehicles to customers globally to a serious alternative. The consistent focus on a holistic approach to electric mobility will not only set in Germany necessary, important momentum and accelerate the uptake of electric mobility. With BMW as a partner, we set this target to the different markets and provide customers with tailored solutions for electric mobility from one source. "

For the MINI-E program BMW chose Clipper Creek EVSE equipment and moved on to use equipment from AeroVironment for the ActiveE program. The switch to Schneider Electric demonstrates how the electric vehicle charging equipment is still in it's infancy and how manufacturers are still trying to figure out who to partner with. I'm sure BMW put a lot more effort into sorting out who would offer their customers the best products and services this time around since they will finally be offering a production EV to the public as compared to the relatively small pilot programs of the MINI-E and ActiveE. Instead of a couple hundred customers that need EVSE equipment, they will be catering to tens of thousands of new customers every year.


There is no word yet as to whether BMW i will be offering a custom designed wall charger as seen in the picture (presumably made by Schneider Electric) or if that was just for show and BMW i customers will use the standard EVSE's that Schneider Electric currently offers.

The one thing I like about the current EVSE they offer is the option to wire it to a 240V plug and install a 40amp 240V outlet in your garage. This allows you to unplug the unit and take it with you. You can then install a similar 240V outlet at a destination you frequent, say like your parents house and you wouldn't have to buy another EVSE, you would just take it with you when you visit.

It's been a few weeks since any new i3 spy shots have been published, but worldcarfans and carscoop blog have just brought us some recent pictures of a couple i3's with the REx range extender option taken in what appears to be Germany.
In these pictures you can see the lines of the headlights and body panels much clearer than the past spy photos.
 We also now know where the charge port and the fuel filler door will be for certain. Both are on the passenger side with the charge port in the rear and the gas filler door on the front quarter panel.

Even though BMW tried to hide the shape of the taillight, it's clear the concept i3's U-shaped taillight design made it to production.

The headlight lines are clearly defined for the first time.

Kinda looks like a Nissan LEAF from this view. Not a comparison I like to make. Hopefully we won't draw that comparison without the crazy camo-stickers all over.

BMW i manager Oliver Walter introduces the concept i3 coupe at the LA Auto Show

BMW surprised a lot of people at the LA Auto Show and introduced a new variation of the i3, a 2 door coupe to compliment the 4 door hatchback that will launch towards the end of 2013. This new coupe is currently only a concept, but if BMW feels enough people would buy this variant, it could easily go into production.

It shares the same drive platform as the 4 door i3, so most of the engineering is already done. All BMW would have to do is make the different passenger cell and attach it to the same drive platform that the 4 door will be using. Now I'm sure it's not exactly that simple, but I am also confident most of the drive platform would be exactly the same.

The i3's life-drive platform

In fact, Oliver Walter referred to the "i3 family of vehicles" when addressing the crowd of ActiveE drivers at the LA Auto Show. I interpreted this as a sign BMW may use the i3's drive platform to make multiple different offerings.  Since the CFRP passenger cell is literally glued to the aluminum frame which houses the entire drivetrain and batteries, it wouldn't seem to be very difficult at all to offer multiple passenger configurations, provided there was a demand for different offerings.


Many of the people I spoke to were very excited about the coupe, even more so than for the 4 door which is going to be the initial i3 offering. While I liked the look of the coupe, Personally I'm more interested in the utility of the 4 door. The access to the rear seating area is so much better with the coach(suicide) doors on the 4 door. Getting in and out as well as loading and unloading cargo from the rear seats will be infinitely easier with the coach doors and I don't think it takes away from the styling at all, especially since there are no outside door handles for the rear doors. I also think another reason why many others were so excited about the coupe was because looked closer to a production car than the four door i3 does. Lets face it, the 4 door concept car is getting a little long in the tooth and people are getting tired of looking at the glass doors and roof. It was introduced about a year and a half ago and other than a different color interior there has been no changes to it. I get a lot of inquiries about when will BMW show us the production version. The concept coupe has a new, refreshed interior that quite honestly looks stunning and ready for production. I suspect this is very close to what the production i3 interior will look like and I hope BMW doesn't change much because it looks awesome as it currently is.
BMW North American manager of sales and strategy Jacob Harb was also at the event and he spoke for a while and then fielded questions from the ActiveE group. There really wasn't any new news offered. We talked a lot about the range extender option as well as DC quick charge. There was also a lot of discussion on the tires BMW seem to be using on the i3. They are tall and thin and don't look like they would be good for aggressive driving. The concept coupe at the show had 175/60 R20's on the rear wheels and 155/60 R20's on the front. No doubt the different tire sizes were a concept-only feature but the tall and thin nature of them had people wondering if too much road holding will be sacrificed in the name of efficiency. We also talked a lot about the use of run-flat tires. I can say with certainty the ActiveE drivers there, and many others that I have spoken to do not want run flat tires on the i3. I hope BMW got the message and decides not to use them. They are loud, harsh and heavy and we do not want them. Can I be any clearer?

The openness of the i3 is hard to capture in pictures. Although it is a small car, the interior is spacious. During the presentation Walter said the i3 will have roughly the same interior volume as a three series. That's considerably more space than our ActiveE's have now even though the i3 is much smaller. Because of the life-drive architecture and the elimination of the transmission tunnel needed on front engine internal combustion engine cars, the i3's passenger compartment is much more spacious than a comparable gas car of it's size would be.

So while I'm really happy to see BMW thinking about expanding the i3's line to offer different variations, what I'm really looking forward to is finally seeing what the production i3 will look like. We are tantalizingly close now after nearly four years of waiting. I'm figuring I'll get my wish in about three months in Geneva? Anyone else care to guess when and where BMW will show off the real i3?

Here's some more pictures from the LA Auto show:

I found a nice place to hang in between the events

The BMW i Born Electric Tour had its only North American stop last week as they set up shop in New York City at a great space across the street from Bryant Park at 1095 Avenue of the Americas.

Just give me a mic and I'm ready to talk EV!

I actually went to the event twice. Once on Tuesday for a private event that only the BMW ActiveE lessees were invited to, and again on Sunday. I made a presentation on Sunday to the participants of the developers Hackathon that BMW i had over the weekend. BMW asked me to talk to the group about my experiences driving BMW's electric cars, the MINI-E and ActiveE over the past 3 1/2 years and I happily agreed to do so.

There wasn't much in the way of new information on the i3 there for me anyway, but this wasn't really meant for those of us following the progress of the i brand closely. It was meant to open the door to the general public for the first time and to show them a glimpse of what BMW i is all about. BMW i is much more than just the cars that are coming from it. It's about the future of urban mobility and where BMW believes we are going. BMW i will have strategic mobility partners like DriveNow, ParkNow,  MyCityWay and ParkatmyHouse.com to compliment the cars they will be selling. These services will compliment their plug in line and make urban mobility easier. BMW i is also focusing on sustainable manufacturing and electric vehicle recharging. The carbon fiber used on the i brand cars is made with 100% renewable energy at BMW's Moses Lake, WA carbon fiber plant and the entire Leipzig assembly plant for the i brand cars will be powered by a wind farm that is currently being built. The materials used for the interior also reflect the sustainability theme: "The interior of BMW i3 Concept is characterized by the visible use of natural resources such as European eucalyptus wood. The natural materials underscore the premium standard of BMW i while conserving resources – and during disposal, they emit only as much CO2 as the plant stored during its growth phase. The leather used in the interior is tanned using a natural agent derived from olive leaves. The olive leaf extract provides natural protection against fading and wear while giving the leather a unique look and unmistakable character. The cowhide from southern Germany is thus not only environmentally friendly, but also produced for maximum durability. The wood used in the dashboard is made entirely of timber grown in Europe and certified as 100% sustainable by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). By crafting the wooden components in Europe, BMW ensures short delivery routes and sustainability in all stages of production." There were plenty of displays that focused on the sustainability side of the brand. Personally I think they could have benefited from balancing that off a bit with some more info on how the cars are fast, smooth and fun to drive.

Jose giving one of many i3 presentations

There were very helpful and well informed assistants there, in particular a woman named Barbara was very helpful. She led one of the tours on Tuesday and was on the main floor on Sunday answering questions about the i3. However the best presentation award in my opinion goes to Jose Guerrero of BMW i. Jose spent much of Tuesday night at the i3 display explaining every detail (that he can at this time) to the ActiveE drivers. Jose was great and the ActiveE Electronauts that I spoke to all thought he was very informative and entertaining to listen to. 

I think BMW did nice job on the whole event. They need to begin to inform the public as to what BMW i is all about. As I said before, this wasn't geared for people like me who have seen the concept i3 & i8 a few times already in person and follow everything that is announced. However for the person off the street it was an eye opener. I watched the people walk in on Sunday and marvel at the cars. A couple people even said to their friends "Yeah, but they'll probably never make these because they are too cool" I quickly jumped in and told them that these cars will be on sale starting next year and they were very happy to hear it. One of the real highlights for me was on Sunday. I was talking to Barbara on the main floor and a guy walked up to me and introduced himself. He said he recognized me from reading my blogs and that he's been following them for a while now and reads every post. That was really cool and I want to thank him for taking to he time to stop by and say hello as well as for following my blogs. Hearing people tell me they enjoy them is what really keeps me doing it.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

The i3 advertised range: You better deliver on this promise BMW!

A smaller battery means quicker charging. The i3 will fully charge in 3 hours compared to the ActiveE's 5 hour recharge time

BMW had a display that showed that New York City already has over 100 public charging stations installed

The 2012 Paris Auto Show is underway and BMW has once again trotted out the concept i3, albeit with a new interior. There aren't much changes to the interior, just different materials and colors and the outside is still the same as we've seen for over a year now. With the launch of the i3 about a year away, I suspect we won't get our first glimpse of the real production version until after the New Year, probably at one of the early 2013 Auto Shows. While Paris didn't reveal anything new about the outward looks of the car, BMW did put out a nice display of the CFRP body shell and drive module, take a look: