BMW drove a new i3 on the Paneuropeana route from North Cape, Norway to Tarifa, Spain, covering 3,658 miles in 3 days, 2 hours and 41 minutes. The car spent only 2 hours and 46 minutes charging during the journey.
The i3 50 xDrive used has a 108.7-kWh battery pack, dual-motor powertrain with 463 horsepower, and EPA-rated range of 468 miles. It achieved 12.5 kWh per 100 km, translating to nearly 5 miles per kWh. The car maintained an average speed of about 50 mph and charged at an average power of 275 kW, with the i3 capable of up to 400 kW charging speeds.
The Paneuropeana is a long-distance EV rally route designed to determine which vehicle can complete the course with the least charging time. BMW broke the existing record by more than seven hours. One engineer drove the i3, while identical support vehicles followed. The route crossed eight countries and encountered bad weather and rough roads. Charging stops used public stations and were not pre-determined, requiring the team to optimize the route based on charging infrastructure, weather, and traffic.
A U.S.-spec i3 can gain 180 miles of range in 10 minutes of charging and reach 80% battery in 21 minutes.