Teaser Video of BMW's Pure-Electric 1-Series Coupe

BMW has released a short teaser film of its new Concept ActiveE, a fully-electric version of its 1-Series Coupe that will begin trial runs with selected private and fleet drivers in the very near future. The prototype model, which will make its world premiere in Detroit next month, is powered by a an electric motor with 170HP that drives the rear wheels. Watch the teaser video after the jump.

BMW Reveals All-Electric 1-Series Coupe ahead of Detroit Auto Show, Fleet Tests to Follow

The 2010 Detroit Show in January will play host to the world premiere of the BMW Concept ActiveE, a new plug-in electric version of the 1-Series Coupe that will go into limited production and be offered as a lease vehicle to certain customers within the next two years. The Concept ActiveE is the BMW Group's second vehicle after the MINI E to be developed as part of the visionary "project i" initiative.


While retaining the 1-Series Coupe's rear-wheel drive layout, BMW ditched the standard model's internal-combustion engine adding a new synchronous electric motor specially developed for this vehicle that's integrated in the rear axle. The motor produces an output of 125kW or 170hp and a maximum torque of 250Nm or 184 lb-ft.

The electrical energy that powers the motor is stored in a pair of lithium-ion battery packs developed jointly by BMW and SB LiMotive. The battery packs occupy the space that would normally be taken up by the conventional drivetrain and fuel tank in vehicles powered by a combustion engine.

Despite the various weight-saving measures, the Concept ActiveE tips the scales at a hefty 1,800 kg or about 3,970 pounds.

BMW predicts that the all-electric 1-Series can accelerate from zero to 60km/h (37mph) in less than 4.5 seconds and from zero to 100km/h (62mph) in less than 9 seconds, while the car's maximum speed is electronically limited to about 145 km/h or 90 mph.

Like the MINI E, BMW says that the real-world range is expected to be around 160 kilometers or 100 miles on a single charge, depending on conditions.

The car's lithium-ion batteries can be recharged by a conventional power outlet at public charging stations or at a special wall box. On the European grid, BMW says that the battery pack can be fully charged at a high-current power outlet (50 ampere) in as little as three hours, while in North America, using a high-current (32 ampere continuous) residential wall box, the charge time is expected to be around 4.5 hours.

The all-electric 1-Series Coupe remains a four-seater, however, the car's boot capacity has been reduced to 200 liters due to the electric tidbits.

Design-wise, the Concept ActiveE is distinguished by the Liquid White metallic finish as well as the special logos and graphic elements derived from printed circuits in Electric Blue on the hood, doors, roof and trunk lid.

The coupe also gets specific light-alloy wheel wheels, a specially trimmed interior and revised instrument panel and central display that have been enhanced to include display items specific to electric drive.

Pure-Electric Volvo C30 to Debut at Detroit Show, Trial Runs Start in 2011

Volvo is the second automaker after BMW and its Concept ActiveE to announce the debut of a pure-electric model based on a production car at the 2010 Detroit Auto Show next January. And like BMW, Volvo plans to build a test fleet of at least 50 plug-in C30s, which will be used in real-life traffic from 2011.


The Swedes first showed us an electric C30 prototype in September 2009. Aside from being based on the facelift C30, the Detroit Show model has been further refined and now features both a complete interior and full instrumentation, as well as enhanced battery packaging.

"The first prototype helped us identify the main technological challenges, such as battery packaging and safety issues." said Lennart Stegland, Director of Volvo Cars Special Vehicles.

"We have addressed these challenges without compromising the C30's cool and fun-to-drive personality. I am very happy with the result. The electric C30 in Detroit is a much more complete product," Stegland concluded.

The latest plug-in C30 uses an electric motor fitted under the bonnet while the Lithium-Ion batteries (24 kWh) are installed in the propshaft tunnel and in the space normally occupied by the fuel tank, outside the passenger compartment and away from the deformations zones for safety reasons.

The Lithium-Ion batteries that can be recharged via either a regular household power socket or special roadside charging stations. The Swedes said that a full recharge takes about eight hours

The three-door hatchback has a top speed of about 130 km/h or 81 mph, while Volvo said that it can accelerate from 0 to 60 mph (96km/h) in less than 11 seconds. The car's driving range is up to 150 km or 94 mile, which Volvo claims covers the daily transport needs of more than 90 percent of all motorists in Europe.

Aside from the special graphics, colors and wheels, the electric C30 looks no different on the outside than a regular C30 while inside, the most obvious changes concern the new trim, revised instrument panel and the new gear selector.