Big Motoring World reviews the mysterious BMW which may never make the production line

11:02

BMW have used a research vehicle with plenty of mystery about it. Last week, some design patents appeared in China, but it appears that the radical design is unlikely to make production. Big Motoring World looks into the hydrogen fuel cell technology in the model.

According to PCauto.com.cn, the official patent designs from a BMW were filed with the Chinese trademark office. The assumption was that this is a future “i” vehicle, maybe even the i5, but it turns out that’s far from the truth.

Research

It’s believed that the research being carried out involves the hydrogen fuel cell technology previewed earlier this year in Miramas. They’re also looking into using lightweight material for its primary structure, outer panels, various interior elements and wheels. There are plans to make the latest model 135kg lighter than the previous design, as experimented with the prototype.

Design

The design forgoes the traditional side mirror, replaced by video cameras which are used to capture images that appear within a monitor mounted in the place of the traditional rear-view mirror. The boot has an impressive 348 litres of space, whilst the power comes from both a rear electric motor and a front-mounted 1.0 litre two-cylinder petrol engine.

The BMW is claimed to hit 62mph in less than 7 seconds, hit a top speed of 112mph and return 706mpg on the combined fuel cycle, giving it average CO2 emissions of less than 10g/km.