BMW Expands on the Project I Line-Up: Hints at Production

BMW has been making quite a bit of noise about their new Project I program, with rumors of such vehicles as the Z2 and new Megacity concept spreading like wildfire. While BMW can "neither confirm nor deny" many of these rumors, they can keep pushing out new concepts that fall under Project I. Most recently, that German automaker has taken a lineup of small 2, 3 or 4 wheeled city vehicles into consideration.

If this turns out to be true, BMW will almost certainly be using the Clever platform, originally unveiled back in 2007, as the base for this new lineup. Clever, short for Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transportation, originally began as a design exercise, but was considered heavily for production for many months. After some number crunching, BMW decided not to move forward with the Clever, but to keep it for a rainy day.

The platform itself uses a 3-wheel design, with the engine mounted directly above the rear wheels. Compressed natural gas (CNG) was the fuel of choice for the Clever and in doing so, harmful emissions were reduced to half the amount seen in small vehicles.

The new run of vehicles would most likely feature something very similar to the Clever, while other models would be available depending on the wishes of the buyer.

Currently, BMW has gone on the record to say they are committed to engineering a zero emissions vehicle, highly efficient vehicle, but it will be at least 2014 before a road going model will be available.

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