In this week's round-up of automotive gossip, BMW bares its sensitive side, Volkswagen gives more details on its touted ID R road car and more.
BMW shows emotion
BMW has chosen to base its first electric saloon, the i4 due in 2021, on the forthcoming 4 Series Gran Coupé rather than the closely related 3 Series because early EV customers will want ‘emotional’ rather than ‘practical’ design. BMW design boss Domagoj Dukec said: “The i4 will come when some people doubt if they should go EV or not. EVs will be a little more expensive, so an i4 makes more sense: it’s emotional and expressive, and for people to go for a car that costs more, it has to offer a bit more.”
Designer lives to produce RX-9 forerunner
There's still no official word on whether a rotary-engined Mazda RX-9 is coming, but design boss Ikuo Maeda, who designed the RX-Vision concept – thought to be a precursor to such a model – told Autocar: “I have a 43:1 scale model of the RX-Vision sitting on my desk. It is my life’s work to realise this model to a production car.”
Show me the money
Despite the growth of online buying, more than three-quarters of car owners still buy direct from a showroom, research from InsuretheGap shows. However, almost one in five drivers would buy without a test drive. Nearly a third of those surveyed also said they will go to car showrooms but then compare prices online.
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