BMWs late June showed off its latest EV test mule, Lucy, a battery-driven prototype built out of a standard 5 Series and offering more horsepower and torque than anything the German automakers ever built before.While the exterior looks like a standard 5 Series, somehow BMW managed to tuck a few electric motors and all the supplementary batteries and wires under the body, a seriously impressive feat.Three motors power the vehicle, like in a Tesla Model S, with two for the rear wheels; and one in the front to provide all-wheel-drive. The two motors in the rear allow for active torque-vectoring, improving cornering ability.Together Lucys motors make a ridiculous 711 horsepower, which is 111 more than the current BMW M5 and its twin-turbo V8. Project BEV also trumps it on torque, with some 848 lb.-ft. on tap. All that stomp helps the sedan rocket to 100 km/h in just 3.0 seconds, and in total silence.Project BEV also uses no rare earth metals in its motors, and BMW says the upcoming iX3 will similarly keep the rare metals in the earth.While Lucy is a testbed and not a production vehicle, we cant see BMW going through all this work just to build a toy. Expect the technology its pioneering to end up in a variety of models underpinned by the same
Origin: BMW’s Project BEV is an 711-hp electric performance prototype