This is BMW's first teaser video for the production i3 battery car, due to make its world debut on 29 July. In general it follows the lines of the concept we saw at the 2011 Frankfurt motor show, albeit with smaller rear doors, less extravagant bumpers and more conventional head and tail lights.
In pure-electric trim, the i3 is reportedly powered by a specially developed high-voltage lithium-iron battery that's been engineered to be less sensitive to changes in ambient temperature than its competitors (which is more important than you'd think in northern Europe) and a 127kW/249Nm electric motor mounted over the rear wheels.
BMW says it has also put a lot of effort into reducing the energy consumption of the car's ancillary systems, such as power steering, aircon, lights and instrumentation, so as to increase range (always the big bugbear of electrics - ask Top Gear!) and it is quoting a range of 130-160km on a full charge.
FULLY NETWORKED
That, it says, would be enough for two or three days' commuting in a typical European setting - although it would just about get most Joburgers to work and back.
The i3 will also be what BMW calls the first fully networked car: the driver is repeatedly updated with estimates of the car's range. At the touch of a button it will tell you where the nearest charging station is (or the closest one to your destination!), how long it will take to charge the battery for the trip home (or on to the next destination) and even reserve you a slot at the charging station.
All of which may not be much comfort in the wide open spaces of countries such as the United States, Australia or South Africa, so BMW will also offer a 'range-extended' model with a twin-cylinder, 650cc motorcycle engine that functions purely as a generator (it's not connected to the drivetrain at all), which will extend the i3's range to about 300km.
The base model is expected to cost about €29 000 (R375 000) in Germany and, even at that price BMW says it's had thousands of enquiries for test drives as well as "a significant number" of deposits.