Take a look at the design sketch for the BMW Megacity electric vehicle (below), which is due on the market in 2013.
At the company’s Innovation Days briefing it revealed the design along with a new LifeDrive architecture on which the vehicle is based. The concept consists of two horizontally separated independent modules with the drive model – the aluminium chassis – including a battery, drive system and structural and crash functions within a single construction.
BMW Megacity electric vehicle design sketch.
According to Klaus Draeger, a member of the board of management for development at BMW Group, the Megacity is a revolutionary car that will be the world’s first volume produced vehicle with a passenger cell made from carbon.
The LifeDrive architecture, he believes, will help open a new chapter in automotive lightweight design and will offset the 250-350kg of extra weight normally found in electrically powered vehicles.
The electrification of a vehicle involves extensive revisions to its body as the electric drive system places different demands on the packaging space of the vehicle. As such, BMW set out to develop a new body concept that addresses the technical peculiarities of an electric drive system with lightweight design being particularly important to avoid limiting the vehicle’s range.
The life module is a passenger cell mounted on the load-bearing structure of the Drive model and features carbon fibre reinforced plastic which is at least as strong as steel but also around 50 per cent lighter. The extensive use of this material makes the vehicle extremely light and helps provide a longer range and improved performance.
