While the BMW i8 will be getting sports car fans hot under the collar, the all-electric BMW i3 may be the most significant, and it's this car that BMW is previewing with a new app, as seen on the BMW i Facebook page.
The application-based integration of mobile devices in the context of BMW Connected Drive in the BMW i3 will go well beyond what we know now: Charging, thermal preconditioning, locking and unlocking the car - you will be able to control many different aspects via your smartphone.
BMW has started testing its electric-drive BMW i3 in Northern Europe, as the German automaker looks to gather more testing information on the model it may launch as early as next year, according to Green Car Reports.
The company was testing the electric-drive prototype at its testing facility somewhere in Scandinavia, the website said, adding that it was unclear whether the car had a battery-electric or extended-range plug-in powertrain. Motor Authority posted pictures of the prototype here. The battery-electric BMW i3 is expected to have a single-charge range of about 80 miles and a 0-60 mile-per-hour acceleration time of about eight seconds.
BMW said late last year that it would start selling its battery-electric BMW i3 four-door next year and would start producing the plug-in hybrid-electric i8 two-door sports car the following year. An BMW i8 prototype was featured last year in "Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol," starring Tom Cruise. Last month, the German automaker released a video promoting both the BMW i3 and BMW i8.
In January, BMW started delivering the BMW i3 precursor – the ActiveE – to customers who agreed to lease the vehicle in markets such as New York, Boston and Los Angeles.
