BMW's green solution is Simple!

New model leans into bends, returns 120mpg

There's the car that BMW is ‘banking’ its future on. This amazing tilting, tandem concept is called Simple – and it’s our best look yet at the upcoming project ‘i’ range of eco-friendly, low emission models.

It boasts three wheels and a body that leans to aid cornering, and the 500kg two-seater is capable of 120mpg thanks to a 12kW/hr battery pack.

Although it is classed as a motorcycle, Simple can be driven on a conventional car licence. It’s half the width of a 3-Series, as tall as a 5-Series and shorter than a MINI. BMW says this size and shape is the only way that it can achieve ‘super-efficiency’.

To ensure interior space is optimised, an ‘Ergo seat’ is used. This uses composite materials to cut weight and replicates the human skeleton. When the Project ‘i’ range arrives in 2013, it will offer electric, petrol, hybrid and diesel variants with two, three or four wheels.

In a related story, BMW is planning to launch its first front-wheel-drive car. The new model uses the next-generation MINI platform – which will be used first on the Crossman SUV. It will sit below
the 1-Series in the range and is likely to be called the 0-Series.

In a further move, production of some MINI models could move to Germany, alongside the newcomer.

The 0-Series will use three or four-cylinder direct-injection turbo petrol engines, plus an electric powertrain from the firm’s Project ‘i’ EV range. It’s set to be available in three and five-door form from 2013, with a two-seat drop-top following in 2015.

In a bid to separate the model from the MINI, it’s rumoured that the 0-Series will be even more involving to drive, with a hi-tech chassis featuring an electronic diff and active damping. Pricing is expected to be higher, too.