The first electric car produced by BMW was MINI model, which was offered much more like an experimental form to the many MINI enthusiasts who wanted to try and drive other type. In Detroit, however, the Germans will migrate from the MINI niche and present a larger electric car and the first BMW model,which directly associated the products of BMW series with the electricity. It is a about a prototype that is based on BMW 1 Series Coupe, called Active E and introducing some aesthetic elements of the BMW Vision Efficient Dynamics concept.
The idea of this concept was to make few compromises in terms of practicality. So ActiveE keeps the configuration with four-seats opposed to MINI, which has only two, with a more intelligent layout of the propulsion system. The electric motor is disposed above the rear axle, and the batteries, developed by the folks at SB LiMotive (Bosch + Samsung), are located under the back seat, where the tank stood in the center tunnel and into the front where resides the engine combustion. In this way you get an arrangement of masses 50/50, and the sporty looks is not altered.
The output of this unit is about 170 hp, enough assets to make from Active E a model,which is dynamic comparable with BMW 118d, being able to reach 100 km / h in just 9 seconds. The autonomy will not be similar with the full batteries, so Active E batteries can travel only 160 km, but during the loading of 50A 230/240V power source it should last around 3 hours.
