For those not quite lucky enough to make it to Frankfurt to witness BMW’s new Vision EfficientDynamics concept exposed for the first time, BMW yanked off the cover yet again for an audience at the LA Auto Show on Wednesday.
The ferocious-looking hybrid combines sportscar styling with electric underpinnings to deliver 62 miles per gallon, and a zero to 62 time of 4.8 seconds.
Unlike similar electric vehicles that use lithium-ion or nickel-metal-hydride battery packs, the Vision uses a lithium-polymer battery pack – the same type used in ultrathin laptops like Apple’s MacBook Air. The pack pumps power to a dual front and back electric motors which put down a combined 356 horsepower – enough to push the Vision all the way to 155 mph.
Similar to Volkswagen’s diesel-sipping Up Lite, it also uses an efficient diesel engine to power the batteries between at-home charging.
Although BMW showed footage of the vehicle zipping around twisty forest roads, it remains, unlike Audi’s E-Tron, purely a dream for the time being, with no finite plans for production.
