VIDEO: The new BMW i models spotted in Chicago

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Last month, the Germans from BMW officially revealed the first two members of the new i family, the new i3 and i8 to be more precise. However, the models were bearing the “Concept” badge which means that the production version of the models in question could suffer some modifications over the vehicles presented at the press conference in Germany. Even so, the German company took out the two eco-friendly vehicles out for a photo shooting somewhere in Chicago, a perfect opportunity to see some real footage with the futuristic looking models.

It is true that we already met the new i3 and i8 models last month as BMW offered a bunch of official photos alongside CGI videos but we never had the opportunity to see these models on the streets.

Well, until now, as a YouTube user decided to film some footage with the new BMW i models and post them in order to see the actual models in action. As you probably know, the first two electric models from BMW are scheduled to debut next month at the Frankfurt Auto Show while they will hit the dealerships and will go on sale in 2013.

The new BMW i3 is a fully electric city car based on the Megacity project, the first model from BMW to offer zero-emission driving. It is powered by an electric motor placed on the rear axle able to offer 170 horsepower and 250 Nm of torque. The engine is coupled to a single-speed gearbox, the acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h being possible in 8 seconds while the top speed is 150 km/h.

The Germans announced a driving range of about 140 km while the lithium-ion battery needs around 6 hours to charge from a standard power socket. On the other hand, the new BMW i8 is a plug-in hybrid sports car based on the previous Vision EfficientDynamics concept.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Glxeug4lQaA

The vehicle is powered by a 1.5-liter three-cylinder gasoline unit and an electric motor for a total output of 349 horsepower and 550 Nm of torque. The sprint from 0 to 100 km/h is done in less than 5 seconds while the driving range is estimated at around 645 kilometers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F1QLktynWAo

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Rikk

https://www.bmwcoop.com