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BMW i8 is one of the latest concepts of the German car maker, that brings forth a 220 horsepower 3 cylinder engine and an electric drive system, borrowed from the BMW i3 and tweaked a bit. This vehicle reaches 100 km/h in under 5 seconds, impressive for the segment it belongs to.
This car will use 3 litres of fuel to run 100 kilometers and another important power source is the big Li-Ion battery. You can charge that from your house supply and give it 35 kilometers of autonomy on electric power alone. Inside, we discover a 2+2 interior, comfortable enough for a family of 4. The BMW i8 uses the LifeDrive architecture, giving it a more sporty twist.
Thus, we find the electric motor in the front axle module, while the combustion engine stays at the rear. These sections are connected through BMW’s trademark energy tunnel, that other car makers would call transmission tunnel. The i8 has a low center of gravity and distribution of 50/50, which is perfect for this hybrid-supercar concept.
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BMW celebrates the 328 car model by launching the 328 Hommage concept, pictured below. This is a design that’s based on a carbon fiber body and an asymmetrical windscreen, to name just a few of its features. The newcomer is a 2 seater roadster with a front mounted engine.
This is a lightweight vehicle, one that combines the look of the 1930s car with the newest technologies, like the 2 iPhones included in the dashboard through a special aluminum housing. Also the carbon fiber reinforced plastic is part of the new technologies and looking back to the original model, we remember that the original 328 was one of the first with kidney grilles on the front and wide tail lamps at the back.
The lack of doors and angry facade with the aggressive styling makes this both and old bird and a cool one. Supposedly BMW included a 3 liter six cylinder engine on this model, although I can’t confirm that.
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Anne Forschner struck gold in all of us S.C.A.R.S videogame fans… If you remember the gaming title, it had cars like the one you can see below all over it and they were pitted against each other through races and more. Back to the design, The 24 year old Pforzheim University graduate created this beautiful BMW Lovos concept, a very unusual piece of machinery.
The supercar looks just like a porcupine and its name stands for “Lifestyle of Voluntary Simplicity”. BMW Lovos is made out of a single fully exchangeable part that recurs 260 times and each of its exterior pieces features a solar photovoltaic cells, probably used to charge the futuristic vehicle.
These exterior pieces are connected via hinges to a substructure of the BMW concept car and they can follow the sun or be used as airbrakes. An electric BMW of the future with a very, very sharp design? Yes, sir!
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The BMW hydrogen-powered salt flat racer pictured below was part of the 2008 LA Auto Show Design Challenge. This vehicle is based on the principle of reusing materials, like old oil barrels or barbeque lids. BMW have tried to make this concept car environmentally-friendly and they seem to have succeeded.
This car is sustainable and it uses an unique idea to verify the emissions, either goldfish or canaries, that will get sick unless you’re running clean without polluting Mother Nature.
The wheels you can see in the images are made out of gel-nylon and they can flex as needed. Tires are airless and be re-vulcanized or re-treaded at any time.
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Supercar design and the passion for concept cars is somewhat of a male-only segment, but we’re keen to welcome newcomers to the field, feminine designers included. Among them there’s Magdalena Schmid, who created the stunning BMW Pixie concept car you can see below. This is not only a vehicle, but also a symbol of values like “relationships, responsability and active participation in society”.
Pixie has an unusual surface, since it uses porous structures on the exterior side, with the advantage of achieving a bigger internal surface, when compared to the exterior one. This will be useful for features like an evaporative cooling system and what’s more interesting is that the car will sport upgrades to its architecture, just like the software/firmware updates.
For example, the electric drive train might become obsolete in a couple of years, so it’ll need to be upgraded. Since this is a car of the future, it won’t waste energy, recycling it instead via the infrastructure of streetlamps, providing energy feedback. Brilliant, feminine and eco-friendly! What more could we want?
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Yesterday we’ve shown you the BMW ZX-6 concept car, designed by the folks of Istituto Europeo di Design of Turin as part of a challenge launched by BMW. Now, the same challenge reveals another great concept, the BMW Africa, designed by Raphael Laurent and Mihai Panaitescu.
The vehicle is inspired by the African lifestyle and culture and it can “deconstruct” itself in order to satisfy the owner’s daily needs. That surely sounds like Transformers action to me, but there’s got to be more symbolism to this baby than meets the eye.
We remind you that the 8 final models of the BMW challenge will be displayed at the Turin Design Institute till the end of September 2008 at a 1:4 scale.
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If the BMW Gina was not your cup of tea, you might want to get a bit more into the future of automotive design, by admiring the beautiful BMW ZX-6 concept. It was designed by Transportation Design students from the “Instituto Europeo di Design” in Turin and it reflects the trends of 2015.
The concept car is clearly designed for adults and its creators used natural elements as inspiration, ranging from the sun, sea or wind to the earth. This reminds me of a similar Mazda initiative, but this vehicle also used some elements from music (?), painting and many other arts to create an unique automobile of the future.
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Talk about futuristic design… the supercar you can see below is the GINA concept, coming straight from the bright minds of the BMW people. GINA is short for “Geometry and Function in ‘N’ Adaptations”, which according to Autoblog means that both the original BMW team and the folks of BMW Group DesignworksUSA worked on this beauty.
GINA’s outer skin is made out of textile fabric, wrapped around a metallic frame and carbon fiber wires. Add to that a neat skeleton controlled by electro-hydraulic devices and the means to change shape beneath the car’s skin. Want an example? GINA’s headlights can be hidden or exposed, depending on the way the car’s skin is set.
This vehicle resembles the Z4 Roadster quite a lot and GINA features doors that open in a semi-scissor pattern without the use of hinges. Be sure to check out the video below in order to understand that we’re dealing with the future of automotive design right here.
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You’re probably familiar with the BMW M1 if you’re a fan of this brand. In case you’re not, let me remind you that 30 years ago the M1 was introduced to the world, becoming an instant hit of the time and the definition of BMW quality vehicles. The model below is a tribute to the original automobile and it’s designed by Paul Bracq and later on by the Italian design house Giugiaro.
The BMW M1 Hommage is a tad more aggressive than the original version and combines old-school design and features with modern looks. Check out the 80’s typical badging on the rear side plus the uber-cool wheels and let’s not forget the louvered rear window.
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