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New BMW i3-like Visio.M EV concept uses lightweight resin

It's not a new version of the BMW i3, but an updated version of a lightweight concept car from SABIC, BMW, the Technical University of Munich, Daimler and others does bear a certain resemblance to the well-designed plug-in city car. From the black "glass" in the hatch to the angled line tail lights to the up-and-down window line, you can see a sort of family resemblance (see an i3 comparison photo here). And, of course, they both have an electric powertrain. But the changes made to the new lightweight urban electric concept vehicle is more of an exercise in what's possible rather than a way to evolve the i3 and i8 into a broader i family of vehicles. Even so, what we see here is interesting, since SABIC found all sorts of new ways to take weight out of the car as part of the Visio.M (Visionary Mobility) project, which was first announced in 2012. Let's start with the window material, which as you might guess from the quotation marks above, is not made of glass but is instead SABIC's Lexan polycarbonate (PC) resin plastic. The lower weight (the PC helps shed about 29 pounds) adds two miles of range while the PC resin has better thermal conductivity compared to glass and so does even more because the HVAC system can be more efficient. According to SABIC's computational fluid dynamics analysis, an extra 9-10 miles of range, in fact. Without the battery, this concept weighs just 992 pounds. Remember, BMW already made a lot of weight-reduction measures in the i3 thanks to carbon fiber reinforced plastic, so to make the "glass" lighter would only help boost efficiencies on a production vehicle that uses a resin like this. Read more below. SABIC's LEXAN™ resin delivers weight savings and thermal efficiency for new ultra-lightweight electric car concept developed by BMW-led Visio.M Consortium Munich, October 20, 2014 Today, at the Technical University of Munich (TUM), BMW, Daimler, TUM scientists and a consortium of industry participants showcased a lightweight urban electric concept vehicle with various advances, including an all-plastic design of the car's windows. The windows are made of LEXAN resin, a polycarbonate (PC) material, and coating technologies from SABIC, a leading developer of PC glazing for automotive windows and many other thermoplastic solutions for the automotive industry.

Nissan Z Proto, next-gen Hyundai Tucson and a hi-po mystery Bronco | Autoblog Podcast #645

In this week's Autoblog Podcast, Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore is joined by Senior Editor, Green, John Beltz Snyder and News Editor Joel Stocksdale. In the news this week, Ford has teased some sort of high-performance Bronco, Nissan unveiled the Z Proto, Hyundai revealed the next-gen Tucson and GMC teased the Hummer EV's "Crab Mode." Our editors break that all down for you, and share some insights and opinions before they turn to the cars in their own driveways. This week, they've been spending time with the 2020 Mercedes-AMG G 63, as well as the 2020 BMW Alpina B7. Autoblog Podcast #645 Get The Podcast iTunes – Subscribe to the Autoblog Podcast in iTunes RSS – Add the Autoblog Podcast feed to your RSS aggregator MP3 – Download the MP3 directly Rundown Ford's beefed-up Bronco prototype stars in new teaser photo Nissan Z Proto previews the retro, rear-drive, turbo, manual future of the Z All the Nissan Z cars that got us to the Z Proto 2022 Hyundai Tucson debuts with striking styling inside and out GMC Hummer teases crab mode, reveal set for Oct. 20 Cars we're driving: 2020 Mercedes-AMG G 63 2020 BMW Alpina B7 Feedback Email – Podcast@Autoblog.com Review the show on iTunes Related Video:

BMW: i8 sold out, i3 records 10k orders

Just in case anyone was wondering how plug-in BMW cars would be received, the answer is apparently "quite well." After speaking with BMW's global sales chief last week at the LA Auto Show, Reuters has learned that the plug-in hybrid i8 sports coupe is already sold out for its first year on the market.
There is no word as to how many i8s BMW sold, but the first example was delivered to a customer last week in Germany. As for the all-electric/range-extended i3 hatchback, the automaker has received more than 10,000 orders for this model before it even goes on sale. Likewise, we don't know how many BMW plans to sell, but we do know they'll be showing up in the US before next summer.
We've already spent some time behind the wheel of both plug-in BMWs, and you can check out our first drive of the production i3 and our first drive of an i8 prototype.