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Plug In 2014: BMW i DC Fast Charger is poised to change the EV game

It looks like it's just a blue box on a pole, but BMW's new i DC Fast Charger represents a much bigger deal than just the lowest-cost SAE Combo Charger on the market. BMW sees it as the key to getting more drivers into electric vehicles. As Robert Healey, the EV infrastructure manager for BMW of North America told us, "For [BMW], the future is clear. DC charging really is the future." "DC charging really is the future." – Robert Healey, BMW We spoke with Healey at the Plug-In 2014 conference in San Jose, CA last week about the promise of the new $6,548 DC fast charger. "The strategy is pretty simple," he said. "BMW wants to get as many DC Fast Chargers out there as possible. We're not in the charging business, we're in the EV business and to support the sales of our cars, we have identified some key areas: home charging, public charging and assistant services for EV drivers." That's why the first of the new blue boxes will be installed at the 285 i dealers in the US, many of whom already installed the cables needed for fast charging when they put in the Level 2 chargers, said BMW's Cliff Fietzek, manager of connected eMobility. Even if you haven't gotten a site ready for a DC fast charger, the installation costs for BMW's unit are lower because you don't need to pour concrete (for the wall unit) and the SAE Combo connector plug costs "significantly" less than the competing CHAdeMO plug, Fietzek said. One minor drawback to the BMW DC fast charger compared to the more expensive traditional, full-size DC fast chargers is that the 24kW BMW fast charger allows you to charge to 80 percent full in 30 minutes, while the bigger units can do the job in 20. The good news for EV drivers with SAE Combo cars (which, in the US, means the Chevy Spark EV and the VW e-Golf) is that any driver with a Combo plug car and a ChargePoint card will be able to use the BMW stations. In fact, BMW is talking with both GM and VW on where to install SAE Combo stations in the US so that there is minimal duplication of effort. In other places, BMW is working with other automakers, including Nissan, which uses a competing fast charging standard. "In Great Britain, we are installing triple chargers, the CHAdeMO, SAE Combo and the high-power, three-phase AC that can go up to 43 kW to support the Renault [EVs] and others," Fietzek said.

Pininfarina Battista hypercar's output specified at 1,873 horsepower

Even in a galaxy far, far away, the Pininfarina Battista would stand out. After a delay of about three years, the official specifications of the all-electric hypercar have been revealed: Full power is rated at 1,873 horsepower, outputting 1,697 foot-pounds of torque. Sixty-two miles per hour arrives in 1.86 seconds, with 124 mph coming in 4.75 seconds. 217 mph is the estimated top speed. (The Rimac Nevera recently hit 258.) The 120kWh battery pack should enable a range of about 280 miles from a single charge. A pair of electric motors are mounted to each axle, each motor powering a specific wheel and giving the Battista full torque vectoring capability. Pricing — and this is one of those cars that, if one has to ask, just move on — is about $2.2 million, which places it in the territory of the Bugatti Chiron. For those customers considering an upsell, a limited “anniversario” edition will comprise five of the expected 150-unit build run. It differs from the standard version by some cosmetic alterations, which lifts the price by some $70,000-plus. 0r you could buy a BMW M3 as a chase car. The two-seater Battista is named for Battista “Pinin” Farina, who founded Carrozzeria Pininfarina in 1930. A lot of its battery, carbon-fiber chassis and motor components come from Rimac, the nascent Croatian electric supercar maker that recently paired with Porsche to take over Bugatti.  Many more details about the carÂ’s development, several photos and our driving impressions can be found in this Autoblog post from August.   Auto News By the Numbers Green BMW Bugatti Green Automakers Green Driving Coupe Performance Supercars Pininfarina Battista

BMW shows 670-hp plug-in 5 Series GT concept

BMW quietly revealed a 5 Series GT concept earlier this week at an event in France, and it sports a plug-in hybrid powertrain capable of a whopping 670 horsepower. Think the upcoming Model X crossover from Tesla sounds good? BMW has something that might be just as enticing for eco enthusiasts who like their cars to be green and mean. BMW quietly revealed a 5 Series GT concept earlier this week at an event in France, and it sports a plug-in hybrid powertrain capable of a whopping 670 horsepower. That's right, a hybrid BMW hatch-crossover with more estimated power than the 2015 Chevrolet Corvette Z06. BMW's setup is called "Power eDrive," and it uses a 20-kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery pack that provides juice for two electric motors; they work with a 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine. This 5 Series GT would be able to travel for 62 miles under electric power. The prototype shows the high-performance potential of the system, but the 5 Series GT is "purely a concept," BMW spokesman Julian Arguelles told Autoblog. The GT made its global debut alongside plug-in versions of the 3 Series and X5. They used more basic eDrive systems with one electric motor teamed with a turbo four cylinder. BMW revealed the prototypes to illustrate its plans to increase production of plug-in hybrids. Its goal is to add plug-in variants to all of its "core-brand models," though specifics and timing are unclear. BMW Group Media information 1. BMW Group Innovation Days 2014: New drive technologies. (Introduction) The recently launched BMW i3 and BMW i8 are the first zero-emission vehicles in the premium segment, being designed respectively as dedicated all-electric and plug-in hybrid models. Their BMW eDrive technology promotes hallmark brand driving pleasure, while at the same time delivering major reductions in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions – all the way to zero tailpipe emissions when operating in all-electric mode. This is BMW Efficient Dynamics taken to its logical conclusion. For more than 15 years, the Efficient Dynamics strategy has inspired and shaped the development of new models across all the BMW Group brands, resulting in the development of highly efficient vehicles that combine dynamic performance with intelligent energy management. Today, thanks to Efficient Dynamics, the BMW and MINI brands offer premium models that set benchmarks in their respective segments in terms of their exceptional balance of performance and fuel economy.