Tag Archives: range extender

It’s not every day you witness the launch of a new car brand, but that’s what we have with BMW’s new i sub-brand, which was introduced to Ireland last week. Although the i3, the first fruit of this particular tree, has been seen before, this was the debut of the final production car on Irish shores. The i brand is all about sustainable mobility and finding new ways to meet the transport needs of the 21st century. The i3 is a compact car, which was designed from the start to be electric. It uses an aluminium chassis, reinforced by carbon fibre to make the chassis as light as possible. The battery is a solid block mounted in the floor and the resulting lowering of the centre of gravity should ensure a very stable drive. In classic BMW tradition, the i3 is rear wheel drive and performance is spritely, with 0-100 km/h dispatched in just 7.2 seconds. Overall range is quoted …

Opel revealed their latest concept car, the Monza, at a pre-show conference on Monday. Taking its name from the Opel back catalogue, the Monza is an interpretation of how future Opels will look. The interior, too, is a statement, using LED projection technology for the instrument panel and infotainment systems to create one of the most advanced cabins ever seen on a car. 18 LED projectors create an infinitely variable environment and given that they are controlled by software, it’s theoretically possible to introduce an entirely new theme with a simple firmware upgrade. For power, the Monza relies on an electric powertrain, but with a natural gas powered range extender, much like the Ampera in principle. Opel acknowledge that the gull wing doors are fiendishly difficult to engineer and produce, so they will never make production, but this is the car that will inspire Opels to come. Even the phone connection is well thought out, with three modes available: Me, …