The Vision is a 400-horsepower range-extender hybrid capable of hitting 60 mph in less than 4.0 seconds, returning 62.6 mpg (U.S.) and emitting no more than 99 g/km of CO2 — and just 50 g/km in electric mode. Robertson says of the technology that "we've proven it." Further evidence of BMW's commitment to this project is the news that it is building a second running Vision concept car for demonstration and display purposes
Potentially more radical even than this is the news that the carbon fiber body technology that BMW is developing with Seattle-based company SGL Carbon LLC for the 2013 electric Megacity will eventually spread up the BMW range into the company's mainstream models
Robertson describes this development as a "wholesale change" in the way that cars are manufactured, because it represents a shift away from the pressed steel, welded bodies that are currently the mainstay of global automobile production. The process will allow for a different assembly process, too, which Robertson describes as "hub and spoke" core parts of the car made at a central factory, while localized assembly centers produce the finished vehicle
Some of the Megacity's body will be self-colored, although Robertson stresses that it will be a premium model, not least because it will not be cheap, being an early pure electric model. Its lightweight construction — he says that a carbon fiber body shell is around 30 percent lighter than an equivalent aluminium shell — should yield significantly improved range over the 100 to 120 miles of the experimental Mini E
The Megacity carbon-fiber-bodied electric car will go on sale in 2013 with BMW propeller badges and unique sub-branding, in the same way as the Motorsport 'M' nomenclature. "We've come up with a good decision," says Robertson of this naming strategy
The Megacity will initially come in one four-seater form, but other derivatives will follow. Robertson says that it is designed for use in so-called megacities — hence the name — which is why the electric Mini E prototypes were trialed in Los Angeles, where the company sees major sales potential for this radical car
No less radical for the BMW brand is the company's plan to develop front-wheel-drive models. Robertson explains the strategy by pointing out that "the mature segments are growing slightly, but the real growth is in the small-car segments. In the next 10 years these will be the fastest-growing segments, for both volume and premium cars." Hence BMW's recent announcement that it will be build BMW-branded front-wheel-drive models for the first time (it already makes the Mini and previously developed the 1998 front-drive Rover 75), taking its front-wheel-drive volume to around a million units by 2015. Some 600,000 of those cars will be BMWs, positioned below the 1 Series range, some of which will introduce new concepts and body styles to the segment, says Robertson
Robertson also confirmed that the production version of the Gran Coupe unveiled at the 2010 Beijing Auto Show may well be badged as a 6 Series and will debut "in the second quarter of 2012." There will be an M6 version of this, while the M version of the 1 Series is slated for "the first part of next year." BMW is still not revealing what this car will be called. The logical M1 badge was previously used by the 1979 BMW supercar
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