Production BMW i3 leaked

First images of BMW’s mould-breaking new i3 electric car have been leaked across the internet less than a week before its simultaneous global unveiling in London, New York and Beijing next Monday (July 29).

The final production version of the BMW’s first all-electric model eschews the transparent doors of the concept first shown at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show, but retails the show car’s blue-framed twin kidney grille.

First published by Autoblog Netherlands, these official images also show the redesigned headlights and LED tail-lights previously concealed on the lightly camouflaged prototype models we drove in Europe earlier this month after they were spied testing.

As we’ve reported, the i3 will make its Australian debut at the Melbourne Marathon in October before going on sale here a year after its global launch in the third quarter of next year, alongside the all-new i8 sports coupe.

BMW announced earlier this week that the i3 will be available to purchase (for £25,680, including a £5000 government subsidy) or lease (for an upfront payment of £2999, plus £369 per month) in the UK from November, via a dedicated sales website, authorised BMW dealers or new Customer Interaction Centres.

Contrary to reports elsewhere, BMW Australia is still considering its retail strategy for pint-size city-car here and says it has a range of issues to finalise before a decision is announced within two months.

As we reported earlier this week, $50,000 to $70,000 will be the range of retail pricing if the car is to be sold rather than leased, potentially making it more expensive than Holden’s larger Volt plug-in hybrid liftback, while payment will be based on the same value if it leased.

Motoring.com.au can report that, despite previous indications it would not import the all-electric version, BMW Australia will offer both pure-EV and range-extending PHEV configurations of the car here.

BMW Australia has also revealed it has received almost 1000 local enquiries about both the i3 and i8, which will be launched here together in mid-2014, but stresses that supplies of both vehicles will be strictly limited.

Both i3 variants feature a rear-mounted 125kW/250Nm electric motor that draws its energy from a liquid-cooled lithium-ion battery pack to drive the rear wheels via a single-speed transmission, resulting in 0-100km/h acceleration in 7.9 seconds, a top speed limited to 150km/h and a total driving range of up to 160km.

BMW will offer the i3 in Britain with a 32-amp AC/Mains fast-charging system that will top up the battery pack to 80 per cent within three hours, while charging the i3 via a standard domestic power outlet will take between eight and 10 hours and drivers will also be able to recharge the car's batteries to 80 per cent within an hour via a 50kW DC fast-charger in public areas.

Likely to make it the more suitable option for most Australian customers, the i3 PHEV is fitted with a range-extending 650cc two-cylinder petrol engine that powers the battery when depleted to provide a range of up to 290km for each tank of fuel.

Measuring just 3845mm long, making it almost 500mm shorter than a Golf, the i3 is the first BMW ‘i’ model to be based on an all-new ‘LifeDrive’ chassis architecture combining an aluminium chassis and a carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic passenger cell.

These leaked official images also show the i3’s four-seat interior features a blue-trimmed two-spoke steering wheel, digital instrument cluster and large central touch-screen infotainment interface.

Both the i3 and i8 will be built at BMW’s Leipzig plant in Germany.

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