BMW to introduce electric Megacity carbon-fibre car

BMW is apparently working on a project called the Megacity Vehicle (MCV), due for release by 2013. They say the Megacity Vehicle will be a “revolutionary” electric car, and will be the world’s first volume-produced vehicle with a passenger cell made from carbon-fibre.

Dubbed the “LifeDrive architecture,” the setup is designed to offset the extra 300 kg of weight typically found in electrically powered vehicles.

The BMW Group is focusing on the innovative high-tech material carbon-fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP). The LifeDrive concept consists of two horizontally separated, independent modules. The Drive module integrates the battery, drive system and structural and crash functions into a single construction within the chassis. The Life module consists primarily of a high-strength and extremely lightweight passenger cell made from CFRP. The new vehicle architecture will “open the door to totally new production processes which are both simpler and more flexible, and use less energy.”

BMW has vaguely confirmed that a new front-wheel-drive model smaller than the 1-Series is in the works. The Megacity concept seems to conveniently overlap with that project.