BMW i3 EV to get BMW motorcycle engine as range extender?

BMW Chief Engineer Ulli Kranz has intimated that the upcoming BMW i3 electric car will use a BMW motorcycle engine as a range-extender.

The only real way to make an electric car – any electric car – come close to being a viable replacement for an ICE car is to fit it with a small engine to extend its range and charge its batteries when reserves get low.

The range extender is the technology the Chevy Volt and Opel Ampera use to make their cars suitable for more than just short urban commuting, and it’s something BMW are planning as an option for the i3.

The BMW i3 is BMW’s stab at a luxury city EV, but they have gone the sensible route of making it possible to buy the i3 with a range extender engine, although we’ve had no details so far.

But we’ve learnt that in conversation with Consumer Reports at an event in New York on Tuesday, BMW Chief Engineer Ulli Kranz did all but confirm that the engine powering the range extender function on the i3 will actually come from BMW Motorrad, the Motorcycle division of the Bavarian group.

Which probably makes sense, as the key to a successful range extender is compact dimensions and a decent power output, something many motorcycle engines have in spades.

But BMW tend to make rather meaty motorcycles, so the choice is probably limited. The obvious candidate would be the engine from BMW’s F-Series bikes, which is a 798cc 2-pot with around 75bhp which would, on the face of it, be compact and powerful enough to discharge its recharge functions admirably.

A nice in-house solution – and much cheaper than developing a new BMW engine to take on range-extender duties.

Source: Consumer Reports