BMW iNext Promises Up To 435 Miles of Juice
The X5-sized vehicle is expected to seat five, too.
Last we heard of BMW's iNext autonomous electric vehicle project, only the projected release window of 2021 was known, and all other details were either fuzzy or not finalized. A fresh report from Auto Express casts more light on iNext, revealing that the platform could feature a variety of powertrain options and that something more tangible than a concept rendering would come sometime in 2018.
“It’s groundbreaking; the iNext will be more of the shape and size of an X5," said Alexander Kotouc, head of BMW i product management, to Auto Express. "It will have a completely different interior and be able to seat five people.” Electrek reports that iNext will be based on the "Next 100" concept car, as seen above.
These five people may be capable of traveling with next to no interaction with the vehicle, as iNext is said to be capable of up to level 5 autonomous driving, though it is expected to launch at more easily achieved level 3 autonomy.
The platform itself will permit integration of both internal combustion and electric motors, with battery options between 60 and 120-kilowatt-hours, for a maximum range as far as 435 miles. The electric motor output will range from 134-horsepower at entry level to 800 in a performance version of the iNext.
Despite these boastful claims, BMW does not appear to be the leader in autonomous transport tech. Waymo and GM are thought to be ahead of most of the industry, as the former already has autonomous cars on the road in Arizona, and the latter will put the wheel-free Cruise AV on the market next year, if given the green light.
