BMW completed a nearly 5,900-kilometer journey from the North Cape to Tarifa with the new i3 50 xDrive. According to the manufacturer, the electric 3-series took only 2 hours and 46 minutes to recharge.
For the 5,886.7-kilometer journey from the North Cape at the top of Norway to Tarifa in Spain, the new i3 50 xDrive’s charging time added up to just 2 hours, 45 minutes, and 54 seconds. The so-called ‘Paneuropeana’ route took the BMW through eight countries.
The focus was not on achieving the shortest driving time but explicitly on minimizing charging time at predefined checkpoints. The team could choose which publicly accessible fast-charging stations to use and tailor the route to the most powerful charging infrastructure, as well as weather and traffic conditions. BMW states that the average charging power per hour for the entire trip was 275 kW.
The pure driving time amounted to 3 days, 2 hours, and 41 minutes. During this time, the i3 averaged 79.7 kph and, according to BMW, consumed an average of 12.5 kWh/100 km.
This figure is lower than the official combined WLTP consumption of the i3 50 xDrive, which ranges from 13.4 to 18 kWh/100 km. Charging was done exclusively at publicly accessible charging points.
800-volt, 400 kW charging, big battery
The technical foundation for the short charging time is the sixth-generation BMW eDrive system. The new i3 features an 800-volt architecture and cylindrical cells, delivering up to 400 kW DC charging power. Under optimal conditions, the car can be recharged to 423 kilometers of WLTP range in just ten minutes.
The i3 50 xDrive used for the record drive has an electric motor on both the front and rear axles. Together, the two motors deliver 345 kW (469 hp) and 645 Nm of torque.
The high-voltage battery has a usable capacity of 108.7 kWh. BMW specifies a WLTP range of up to 912 kilometers for the i3 50 xDrive. The vehicle uses the NMC variant of the new Gen6 battery. BMW also plans to use LFP variants in smaller or less powerful cars.
Efficiency
Efficiency is also enhanced by a drag coefficient of just 0.21 and low-rolling-resistance tires. According to BMW, the energy losses of the Gen6 electric motors have been reduced by 40% compared to the previous generation. The volumetric energy density of the cylindrical cells has increased by 20% compared to Gen5 prismatic cells.
Regenerative braking also plays a role. BMW states that the central computer, ‘Heart of Joy’, controls more than 95% of all braking operations via the electric motors, allowing a large portion of the kinetic energy to be fed back into the battery.
Standard cars, normal conditions
BMW emphasizes that the vehicles used for the Paneuropean challenge were fully representative of the series production standard in both hardware and software.
In addition to the record-setting vehicle, another i3 and an iX3 50 xDrive accompanied the journey as support vehicles. It would have been interesting if BMW published their charging times and energy consumption too.
And of course, a record drive optimized for minimal charging time is different from a family holiday in August. There are possible traffic jams, roadworks, hungry passengers, and people who only realize five minutes after the last charging stop that they need to use the toilet after all.
But if the car needs less than three hours of charging for nearly 6,000 kilometers, at least one classic electric-car problem seems to be shrinking. BMW was, of course, looking to set a record, but the fact that range anxiety and charging fear really didn’t have a role here is confirmed by the ‘real drive test’ NMN editor Joris Van Roy did a few months ago, driving from Belgium to Greece and back without major constraints or charging obstacles, not even in Albania.
