BMW i5 hatch leaked
Third i model revealed by Japanese patent drawings; German car-maker also trademarks i1-i9, hinting at a raft of pure-electric carsBMW's third addition to its i sub-brand family has been leaked online after new patent images surfaced late last night.
Filed with the Japanese patent office, the images show a futuristic hatch with unmistakable BMW i design cues that include the familiar kidney-shaped front grille.
Look closer and the new i5 also has i3-style rear-hinged doors that, unlike the i3 city-car, can open independently of the driver and passenger doors.
Discovered by Canadian blog Autoguide.com, the new images show off the BMW's i sub-brand's first mainstream offering.
Far less radical than the i8 and considerably more practical, the new i5 is expected to be offered with both a full-electric powertrain and a plug-in hybrid.
As we reported last year, both models will be all-wheel drive, with the battery-electric (BEV) version driving the rear wheels through a two-speed transmission and about 170kW from its electric motor. Up front will be a 100kW electric motor driving the front wheels with no mechanical connection between the two.
The plug-in hybrid powertrain, meanwhile, will be a development of the i8's set-up, using just one electric motor to drive the front axle and a small three- or four-cylinder turbo-petrol engine powering the rear wheels mounted just in front of the rear axle.
Instead of copying the ultra-lightweight carbon-fibre monocoque of the i3 and i8, the new i5 is likely to be based around an aluminium and carbon spaceframe.
Despite the lack of a full carbon-structure, weight is still set to be kept to an absolute minimum with the i5 likely to tip the scales at less than 1600kg, according to insiders -- lighter than many variants of the current 5 Series.
Set to go on sale by 2019 and go head-to-head with the Tesla Model 3, later on the i5 will be joined by BMW's first ever hydrogen fuel-cell vehicle, which is expected to arrive around 2023.
As well as the images of the future i5, BMW also submitted a trademark application for the names i1 through i9, hinting that the sub-brand is ready for a raft of new models.
Next up after the i5 is likely to be an SUV to do battle with the production version of the Mercedes-Benz pure-electric EQ concept that was launched last week at the Paris motor show.
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