A motorcycle engine for the BMW i3 EV?

BMW i3 EV

BMW will be offering a supplementary two-cylinder motorcycle engine and a generator as an option on the i3 EV for extended running range of the vehicle.

The i3 EV travels between 97 to 145 kilometres on a single charge. An additional twin-cylinder petrol engine, derived from a BMW motorcycle would extend the range to 400 kms. The engine mounted in the trunk and would be connected to only recharge the battery and not power the wheels.

BMW 2 cylinder engine

“I imagine many buyers will order the range extender to cure their range anxiety, discovering later they need it very seldom,” stated Herbert Diess, BMW’s head of R&D.

Commenting further he said “An electric car fits the needs of urban daily commuters, who could use the gasoline engine for longer trips on the weekend. For those who plan a daily use of the range extender, probably the i3 is not the right choice, with a plug-in hybrid model being a better suitable solution.”

An efficient motorcycle engine to charge the batteries on an EV, not a bad idea at all!

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Scroll to Top