BMW Introduces $499/Month Electric 1-Series, 240-hp Turbo Four Z4

I’d like to personally apologize to the readers of TTAC; while everybody else was rushing out of BMW’s showcase Manhattan dealership to file their instant-dispatch posts regarding BMW’s twin introductions today, yours truly was standing in front of the infamous “Squid and Whale” diorama at the Museum Of Natural History and feeling very conflicted about my urban youth and rural adulthood. So here we are, ten hours after the press event, and I’m finally getting around to posting this.

Anyway… Got $499 a month? Are you interested in a 170-horsepower electric 1-Series which zips to 60 in about nine seconds? Nope? How about a super-high-tech BMW turbo four-cylinder that doesn’t quite match what the Koreans are doing?

The white car in the photo above is the BMW ActiveE. It’s the successor to the MINI “E” and it’s going to be made available to seven hundred potential lessors. $499 a month, 24 months, two grand and change out of pocket. It has reasonable power and, as with all electric cars, full torque is available from zero rpm. BMW is very proud of the fact that they offer full electric, hybrid electric, diesel, and “efficient dynamics” gasoline cars, all right here in the American market.

Included under the “Efficient Dynamics” banner is the new 2.0 four-cylinder turbo, finding a home in the inexplicably-named Z4 2.8i. It cranks out 240hp and 260 pound-feet of torque. For comparison, the Sonata Turbo produces 274 horsepower at 6000 rpm and 269 lb-ft of torque, also from two liters. The 2003 Dodge Neon SRT-4 put out similar numbers from a turbo 2.4… at the wheels. On the positive side, fuel economy is said to be 20% above that of an equivalent six-cylinder.

The Z4 avec turbo is nice enough, but the electric One is actually a bit more than interesting. We’ll be trying to get our hands on one ASAP.