Carbonfibre BMW EV approved for production

BMW's Megacity EV will be the world's first mass production car with a full carbonfibre framed passenger cell.

Despite being one of the most vocal of the auto makers about its efforts to help staunch climate change, and despite a history of toying with electric cars going back to battery-powered 2002 concept nearly 40 years, BMW has been comparatively quiet on the matter of all-electric vehicles. Even the MINI E and the 1-Series coupe-based ActiveE have consumed comparatively little global media space alongside Tesla, Mitsubishi's i-MiEV and Nissan's Leaf.

Expect that to change well in advance of the release of its radical Megacity Vehicle (MCV), which it's looking to launch in 2013.

The MCV gives the Bavarian company plenty to talk about, with an electric powertrain to be produced in-house and a build concept it calls LifeDrive, which it claims will set new standards in lightweight design, helping offset the 250 to 350kg weight premium it normally takes to accommodate a decent battery pack.

Rather than outsource powertrain components, the company has opted to develop the electric motor, the power management system and the battery pack in-house, for reasons associated with brand maintenance, BMW spokesman Klaus Draeger, a member of the company's Board of Management for Development, said in a statement.

"The drive system remains the heartbeat of a car, and that also applies to electric vehicles," he said.

"Powertrains also remain a core area of expertise of Bayerische Motoren Werke. Electromobility and the hallmark BMW driving pleasure make an excellent match, if you go about things the right way."

The LifeDrive concept informing the MCV's body design reflects the same clean-sheet approach, starting with the use of carbonfibre reinforce plastics (CFRP) to help overcome problems with power-to-weight ratio presented by even today's most advanced battery packs.

The concept uses two stacked modules. The lower 'Drive' module integrates the power pack and drivetrain into an aluminium space frame fulfilling structural and crash functions, while the upper 'Life' module puts a super-strong yet ultra-lightweight CFRP safety cell around the passengers.

BMW says the concept not only puts a strong protective frame around the powertrain and the people using it but opens all manner of simpler, more flexible and energy efficient new production method possibilities.

Not that much is known about the MCV yet. According to Autoblog's green-car section, it will be a short, tallish four-seater with RWD and a water-cooled Li-ion battery pack.

BMW has yet to sign off completely on the finer details of the electric drive system, but it will be built with lightness in mind, with the batteries sitting low to keep the centre of gravity down. It will comprise 96 Li-ion cells divided into eight 12-cell modules, each running 44.5V.

The most important element of the concept -- indeed the reason the company is going to so much trouble -- is to avoid compromising the 'sheer driving pleasure' defining the brand. As Patrick Müller, powertrain project manager for the MCV, told Autoblog, it wants the MCV to be "the BMW drive among electric drives".

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