BMW 1602e - The first electric BMW

In 1972 BMW showed a special car that was electric, it was meant to show that BMW is a green thinking company and that they could produce a car that didn’t polute the enviroment. They also wanted to show that an electric car could look good.

It was based on the 1602 model, which originally was equipped with a 1.6 liter 84 hp engine, and weighing about a tonne, but BMW made two test prototypes with engines taken out and replaced with batteries and an electric motor.

Under the bonnet there was twelve 12v Varta batteries, the battery has a total capacity of 12.6 kWh electric vehicle battery these batteries can be charged or replaced with a freshly charged pack, the battery pack weighs 350 kg (772 lb).

The battery delivered the juice to the 43hp(32Kw) Bosch electric motor which wasn’t much for the weight of the car, but it didn’t need to be fast.

Fully charged driving like a grandma at 50 km/h it is possible to drive 30km. But if it was driving at top speed, which was about 100km/h, the range was much smaller.

The electric motor was placed where the gearbox was, it had a cooling system so it wouldn’t overheat and it could do 0-50km/h in 8s, beat that Tesla.

It had brake regeneration so it could drive further

For those who don’t know

‘’A regenerative brake is an energy recovery mechanism which slows a vehicle or object by converting its kinetic energy into a form which can be either used immediately or stored until needed. This contrasts with conventional braking systems, where the excess kinetic energy is converted to unwanted and wasted heat by friction in the brakes. In addition to improving the overall efficiency of the vehicle, regeneration can greatly extend the life of the braking system as its parts do not wear as quickly. The most common form of regenerative brake involves an electric motor as an electric generator.’’
Via Wikipedia

In the 1972 summer Olympic Games this car accompanied marathon runners, because it didn’t create any harmful gasses that could hurt the athletes.

Comment below what do you think of it and here’s the official video about it, enjoy.