Vali Porcisteanu is a well-known Romanian rally driver who won the 2011 edition of the Romanian Rally Championship. He decided to try the Parking Assistant system on the new BMW i3 electric vehicle.

The German car won’t park itself if you don’t hold the button until the end of the procedure but he managed to keep it pushed so the car will park even though he jumped off the car.

In order to park itself, the BMW i3 uses sensors and a radar for detecting a suitable parking spot.

Self-parking vehicles are not something new but this one is a little bit special as there’s no passenger in the front seat.

As a reminder, the BMW i3 made its debut exactly one year ago and is now available in Germany at a starting price of €34,950. In the UK, buyers can get the i3 at £25,680 thanks to the £5,000 government grant.

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Marcus M.

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The post New BMW i3 filmed while self-parking appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

Ever since it was officially introduced, the BMW i3 has been in the attention of the media and even managed to grab a few prizes along the way.

But even with such a strong product, the German car maker isn’t just going to leave anything to chance, and the strong advertising campaign proves it.

To this end, they have flooded us with a lot of clips and pictures, highlighting various strengths in both design and performance. It seems BMW is determined to make the promise of an industry shift a reality. While this is a high standard even for BMW, as a newbie in the EV game, not many doubt it could be done.

This latest of video clips presents the BMW i3 model with right side steering wheel configuration. While most other clips focused on numbers and the core ideals behind the EV, this one seems to shift attention to the inside of the car, with plenty of coverage of the dashboard and inner trims.

While on the outside the car might be considered (by some) rather inconspicuous, the interior really shows that BMW did give it their all in designing this vehicle. You can see for yourself just below.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW presents yet another clip of the i3 EV appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

The BMW i3 will be unleashed upon the streets on November the 16th, and BMW is prepping the way for a warm welcome.

The latest effort involves a very nice promotional video, displaying the i3 model, with a special appearance of its sportier cousin, the i8.

The video is put together quite well, with emphasis on the slow but steady technology advance towards a future free of fossil fuels. Besides the obvious ecological message introduced in the video, BMW also made sure to outline the basic technologies that make the i3 stand out in the EV crowd.

Thus, the words born electric are spread around with a dash of carbon fiber and the omnipresent driving pleasure that the BMW i3 is sure to bring. As for the other features and innovations the i3 brings to the table, we have already covered those extensively in the past. So the question remains, are you ready to embrace an electric future alongside BMW? If you feel uncertain, you can always watch the video below for a bit more motivation.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW i3 presented in another video appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

We can stand and discuss the BMW i3 all day and throw numbers and complicated words at each other, and fun as that might be, the opinion of the masses is more important than individuals shouting out their thoughts.

So when a car builder has the chance to show a new car to a certain number of customers, the feedback can be really helpful.

And several points have been made at the event What Car? set up, with people expressing both they admiration for BMW’s work and their disapproval of certain features. And after watching the video below, I get the feeling that the i3, albeit a very nice car, has a raised value just on the account of it being a BMW.

One of the main issues the customers pointed out was the manner in which the back doors work. But even this flaw seems to fade in the face of the advantages that the customers themselves have observed. Stuff like interior space, range or price all seem to work for the new BMW i3. This just might be the EV to revolutionize the industry.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW i3 gets first customer impressions appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

BMW’s electric car was caught once again on the streets of Germany, this time in a short video.

The revolutionary and highly anticipated city car has still to lose any more camouflage, even with the launch drawing closer.

The BMW i3 promises to be a quite a game changer on the electrical vehicle market. It uses a lightweight carbon fiber chassis, showcasing the fact that lightweight materials are finally getting to a point where it is feasible to be used widely on manufacturing vehicles.

BMW’s i3 electric city car has been spotted several times now, both in Germany and abroad, and since the roof was revealed a while back, the car maker has not taken down anymore of the camouflage. With price for the vehicles approximated at 40.000 USD, we should not expect to see many units on the road once it launches. Still, people expect the BMW i3 to be a real game changer, starting a revolution and the downfall of the traditional vehicle.

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post BMW i3 caught on short video appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

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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Marcus M.

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The post VIDEO: The new BMW i models spotted in Chicago appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

As you probably know, the Bavarians from BMW already revealed the new i3 and i8 models at a press conference held few days ago. For now, they presented just the concept version of the models in question but in fact they are pre-production vehicles which will suffer only minor modifications as mass production models. The fully electric BMW i3 is scheduled to hit the dealerships in 2013 while the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 sports car will be available later that year or starting 2014.

Today, we will discuss on all the important information we got from BMW since now while in the end of the article we will watch some videos where the Germans both presented and explained the first two models bearing the new i badge.

BMW i3 is an urban model designed powered by an electric motor mounted on the rear axle able to deliver 170 horsepower and 250 Nm of torque. The acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in done is around 8 seconds while the model achieves a top speed of 150 km/h.

Even the model is currently the smallest one in the new i range, it offers a boot capacity of 200 liters and enough space inside for four passengers.

The fully electric i3 can be 100% charged in six hours while using a quick charger it will take just one hour for 80%. The model can run fully electric for 160 kilometers but if you think that this is not enough for you, there is a range extender as optional which will significantly increase the range.

On the other hand, the plug-in hybrid BMW i8 is a more powerful model which enters the sports car segment delivering good performance and impressive fuel efficiency. It comes with a 1.5-liter gasoline engine producing 220 horsepower and 300 Nm of torque alongside a revised version of the electric motor of the i3 for a total output of 349 horses and 550 Nm of torque.

BMW i8 can run fully electric for 32 kilometers while using the hybrid powertrain will significantly increase the driving range. The acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h is possible in less than 5 seconds while it achieves a top speed of 250 km/h. Find more about the first two i models from the videos below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-4THnOdk3I

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post VIDEO: BMW reveals the new i3 and i8 Concepts in depth appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

As we previously set, BMW will introduce most probably by 2013 the first two models bearing the new i electric badge.

We talk about BMW i3, a three-door four-seater city model that will benefit from a lightweight aluminum structure and most probably is the model associated with the MegaCity project. From the first details, the electric engine that will propel the new BMW i3 benefits from a rear-wheel drive system, is fitted with lithium-ion batteries and is able to develop around 170 horsepower.

What is interesting is that the electric unit one the new i3 will be placed somewhere in the rear, the battery pack being able to offer you a driving range of 160 kilometers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zOri1pnUiM

The new i3 and i8 will benefit from BMW’s LifeDrive system including a carbon fiber cell and an aluminum chassis. About the new i8, the things get more clear as the well-known BMW Vision EfficientDynamics is actually the new i8, a vehicle which will be a sporty supercar with an electric engine under the bonnet and a conventional one having the mission to charge the batteries.

The new BMW i3 will also benefit from a special version that will have an extra conventional engine which will significantly increase the driving range if you consider that the standard model does not provide enough autonomy.

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

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post Extra details for the first BMW i models + videos appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.

As the Germans recently promised, we have some official details regarding the new electric range developed by BMW, information released today, as we expected.

Somewhere in 2013 the first model bearing the i badge, namely i3, will be revealed in a production-ready version. For now we know that the new BMW i3 will be a three-door vehicle with a lightweight aluminum structure. Together with the new electric model, another i model will enter the market around the same date.

We talk about the BMW i8, a model which is inspired by the Vision EfficientDynamics, as we set few months ago when the German supercar was tested in Abu Dhabi. The new electric i range will bear the “Born electric” slogan and the Germans will attack the same premium segment but this time in the electric models area. The Germans will start the production of the i3 and i8, the first models to debut, at the plant in Leipzig. More details and videos coming soon!

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Marcus M.

http://www.bmwcoop.com

The post Official details about BMW’s new i electric sub-brand available now appeared first on BMWCoop | BMW Blog, BMW News, BMW Reviews.