As an electric version of the combustion-engined 3 and 4 Series (they are all built on the same production line), the i4 goes for a relatively simple set-up with a big single motor mounted in the nose. Two- and four-wheel-drive versions are likely but as the extent of drifting in the video shows, the drive emphasis is most definitely at the rear in a bid to capture traditional BMW handling feel.
BMW says the steering is a major contributor to the car’s controllability in dynamic driving, being “entirely independent of drive forces, even during intensive acceleration or deceleration”. Torque steer? Apparently not here.
In huge contrast to the i3 and i8, the i4 looks entirely conventional. Its 4 Series Gran Coupe shell is likely to differ from petrol models only in a raft of the increasingly familiar electric car styling cues, such as blanked-off grille and full-width lighting strips. We will know more in a few months when the camo comes off. It should be more radical and hi-tech inside where new control systems and displays will prevail, including a curved glass screen for a dashboard.