i3

Make
BMW
Segment
Hatchback

We last spied the upcoming i3 EV testing in Arctic conditions. And with the all-electric hatchback just a few months away from being put into production, our spy photographer managed to catch the new BMW i3 wearing the least amount of camo to date. On show are the car's roofline and the lower section of the front bumper, as well as the lines of BMW's iconic kidney grilles and the window line in the rear doors. However the most intriguing style element is the lack of a small cutout on the rear side windows.

If these images are to believed, it appears BMW has forgone its enduring design detail, the Hofmeister kink, which would make the i3 the first BMW without it for over 50 years. Describing the bend at the C-Pillar, the kink was first seen on the 1961 BMW 1500, and later named after then-BMW design director, Wilhelm Hofmeister. It is said to highlight the fact all BMW models are rear-wheel drive (or AWD with a rear-wheel bias), yet the i3 will be powered by a rear-mounted electric motor. So its exclusion remains somewhat of a mystery.