The BMW i3 traveled 5,887 km from Nordkapp to Tarifa. It took 2 hours and 46 minutes to charge.
BMW drove its new i3 50 xDrive along the Pan-European route, from Nordkapp in northern Norway to Tarifa at the southern tip of Spain. Over a distance of 5,886.7 km across eight countries, the sedan spent a total of 2 hours, 45 minutes, and 54 seconds at chargers, with an average charging power of 275 kW. According to Mike Reichelt, head of BMW’s Neue Klasse project, the previous record for this route was over seven hours slower.
The entire journey took 3 days, 2 hours, and 41 minutes, at an average speed of 79.7 km/h calculated for the whole trip including stops. One driver was at the wheel throughout the entire journey. BMW states that the car was charged only at public stations across the country’s network, and no charging locations were predetermined, so the team had to adapt to weather conditions and traffic jams. The vehicle was supposed to be a standard model, with no modifications to its hardware or software compared to those available at dealerships.
Thus, charging accounted for approximately 4% of the total journey time.
BMW states that the average energy consumption is 12.5 kWh/100 km, which is below the lower limit for homologation (13.4–18 kWh/100 km in the WLTP mixed cycle). The total energy required for the entire journey is around 736 kWh. With such consumption, a 108.7 kWh battery would theoretically last about 870 km. However, this is a record set and described by the manufacturer themselves, who did not specify temperatures or speeds on highways, so it’s difficult to apply this figure directly to a vacation trip with luggage at 140 km/h.
What the i3 50 xDrive Has
The sedan uses a 108.7 kWh battery and the sixth-generation eDrive system (Gen6), with a range of 912 km according to BMW’s WLTP figures. Its drag coefficient is 0.21, making the i3 the most aerodynamic BMW in the brand’s history. The 800 V architecture allows charging at up to 400 kW, and the manufacturer claims the i3 can regain enough energy for 423 km of WLTP range in about 10 minutes.
The interior is the same as that of the iX3 in the Neue Klasse: a 43-inch Panoramic Vision display runs along the bottom of the windshield, with a 17.9-inch screen positioned in the center of the dashboard.
In Germany, the i3 50 xDrive costs starting at 65,900 euros. In the U.S., the i3 and iX3 in the 50 xDrive versions begin at 61,500 dollars. BMW did not provide a price list for Poland at this time. The next release date is in China, where the i3 sedan will make its debut on November 27 at the Canton Fair, two days after the launch of the long-wheelbase iX3.
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