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The BMW i3 saloon has gone under the knife, and the surgeon had flair. Thibault Devauze, chief designer at GAC Milano, has recast the Neue Klasse saloon as a sleek Gran Coupe. Eight images landed on Instagram under his design handle. None of it is official. All of it rewards a long second look.
His argument is a simple one. Production reality blunts the boldest sketches. This version puts design intent first instead. The roofline sweeps away rather than squaring off. The nose hits harder. The flanks run leaner through the doors. The tail marks the biggest departure of all, with proportions that sit far closer to a 4 Series Gran Coupe than to the i3 saloon BMW actually sells.
He is not working against the grain, mind you. Devauze reckons BMW kept the raw attitude of the original sketches in the production car. His render simply pushes that attitude further down the road. Call it a what-if rather than a complaint.
The real i3 is no slouch either. Two all-wheel-drive versions lead the range, the i3 40 xDrive and the i3 50 xDrive, both riding on an 800-volt architecture. Outputs stand at 374 hp and 463 hp. Battery packs measure 83 or 109 kWh, good for an EPA-estimated 380 or 468 miles. BMW Panoramic iDrive runs the cabin. An i3 M60 xDrive has been teased as well, and it should arrive with up to 603 hp, matching the iX3 and iX4 M60 xDrive.
The render leaves the cabin and powertrain alone, so assume both carry straight over. That is fine. The silhouette is the whole point here. BMW has no four-door i3 coupe on the books, and a Gran Coupe body riding on Neue Klasse underpinnings remains pure fantasy. Then again, the firm built a 4 Series Gran Coupe because buyers asked for one. Fantasy has a habit of reaching the showroom eventually.
