BMW's Front Drive Plug-In Hybrid
Published: September 14th, 2012
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Here it is, the car that will be regarded by gearheads as the anti-Christ when it makes its debut later this month at the Paris Auto Show; the BMW Concept Active Tourer, a hybrid crossover which previews BMW’s front-drive 1-Series.
While not quite as radical as the BMW i3, the Concept Active Tourer uses the long-rumored 1.5L 3-cylinder turbocharged engine with an electric motor, for a total of 190 horsepower and 147 lb-ft of torque. The lithium-ion battery is said to be good for up to 20 miles of EV driving, while hitting 60 mph in under 8 seconds.
BMW hasn’t confirmed that this car is front-drive, but based on its proportions and previous comments by BMW brass, it’s almost a certainty.
More by Derek Kreindler
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BMW's version of the Chevy Volt. Thank you Mr. Weber.
Cool, BMW is making a Prius V.......Can't you already buy one of those?
The most interesting aspect of the styling (to me) is the fact that BMW eschewed the fixed windowlettes on the rear-doors that it uses in all of its five-door vehicles (X1, X3, X5, X6, 3-Series, 3-Series wagon... 5-Series GT, 5-Series wagon, etc...) in favor of a single piece of glass. Then again, this could be strictly because the vehicle is a concept. I seem to remember both the Buick Enclave and Lincoln MKX concepts pulling the same trick...
The Lexus CT200, Volts, and even Fiskers are selling rather briskly, at least here in California. I would imagine something like this would capture a lot of sales from that same market.