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2021 BMW i4 teased

The 2021 BMW i4 has been teased, ahead of its full debut scheduled for the coming months.


A lightly-camouflaged prototype of BMW's upcoming 4 Series Gran Coupe-based electric vehicle was showcased undergoing final handling and driving dynamics development, with the brand's engineers ensuring "the spontaneous power delivery of the electric motor is combined with precisely controllable handling in every situation".

An i4-specific damper design helps to "[reduce] the dipping movements of the body" under acceleration, while the "actuator-related wheel slip limitation" stability control system debuted with the BMW i3 and 1 Series – dubbed 'Aktornaher Radschlupfbegrenzung' in German – has been fitted to aid traction and more quickly detect and react to wheel slip.

While full specifications will be confirmed closer to the car's global debut in the coming months, BMW has confirmed the flagship i4 – expected to be dubbed 'M50 xDrive' – will develop 390kW, sprint from zero to 100km/h in four seconds, and be capable of a 600km WLTP range on a single charge.

 

Drive

It's possible the confirmed 390kW figure – reportedly chosen to match the 390kW/750Nm outputs of BMW's V8-powered M50i models – could be delivered only on 'overboost', given a report from December 2020 claimed the i4 M50's electric motors would produce 340kW in standard trim, free of any overboost.

Lower-spec, rear-wheel-drive 'i435' and 'i440' models are also rumoured to be offered.

Beneath the camouflage, expect the i4 to combine the styling of its petrol- and diesel-powered 4 Series Gran Coupe sibling with that of the Concept i4 of 2020, with highlights expected to include a pair of tall kidney grilles, five-door liftback styling and blue accents around the exterior.

Inside, expect BMW's latest cabin technologies, namely large digital instrument clusters and central touchscreens running the brand's latest iDrive software.

The 2021 BMW i4 will be unveiled in full in the next "few months", the brand claims, ahead of the rumoured commencement of production in November 2021. Stay tuned to Drive for the full reveal.

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Alex Misoyannis

Alex Misoyannis has been writing about cars since 2017, when he started his own website, Redline. He contributed for Drive in 2018, before joining CarAdvice in 2019, becoming a regular contributing journalist within the news team in 2020. Cars have played a central role throughout Alex’s life, from flicking through car magazines at a young age, to growing up around performance vehicles in a car-loving family.

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