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Tuesday, October 13, 2009

The Simple (which stands for Sustainable and Innovative Mobility Product for Low Energy consumption) does 60 mph in just under ten seconds and has a top speed of 125 mph. The car weighs just over 900 lbs and has a super low drag coefficient of 0.18.

Sebastian Schelper, BMW’s Project Lead for the Simple concept, says BMW “wanted to minimize the use of resources while using the vehicle but also during the production of the vehicle.”

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BMW’s target for the concept is the professional commuter. Specifically, those professionals who travel a lot and often alone. Oh, you know who you are!

Simple is as tall as a 5 Series BMW but when it comes to length the MINI Cooper has it beat. The interior of the vehicle has seating space much like a 3 Series coupe: so not a whole lot.

Schelper says that driving the car is much like “riding an endless wave with your surfboard .”

Its driving performance is aided by automatic tilting technology though the hydraulics are only activated in exceptional coniditions. The driver feels no transverse forces and need not compensate for any lateral movements. The team wanted to combine both the features and the advantages from both cars and motorcycles.

While BMW has been a bit tight-lipped about its foray into the microcar market, this concept probably falls under the Bavarian automaker’s Project I. Other vehicles included in the project are the Megacity and a Z2. It’s rumored the Z2 will be a hybrid offering about 47 mpg.

The car is currently on display at the BMW Museum in Munich.

Source: Wired’s Autopia


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