BMW Concept i4: Harmony at the start

BMW will equip its Concept i4 with a distinctive sound that is also unusual for 100% electric models. It will vary depending on the driving modes.

The future BMW i4 will go into production next year 2021. As we told you a few weeks ago, this model will become the first fully electric BMW in the premium mid-size segment. Its engine will develop a staggering 530 hp and its batteries with cell technologies and a capacity of 80 kWh promise a 600 km range in the WLTP cycle. The forecasts are certainly quite good.

No “zero noise”, the BMW Concept i4 will sound

The character of the BMW Concept i4 is not only due to the product of its design but also to its sound. Hans Zimmer has composed the sound for this model together with BMW sound designer Renzo Vitale under the brand BMW Ionic Sounds Electric.

This brand will provide from the month of julio de 2020 with emotional depth, connecting the driver with the vehicle as soon as it is started. Each car and each model will have individual tones and sounds depending on the driving mode chosen.

Both artists presented the new start/stop sound at Zimmer's studio in Santa Monica last November. The sound of the 100% electric and plug-in hybrid BMWs will be finally and officially presented next July. This new sound is intended to instill a sense of excitement both when starting the vehicle and while driving, according to the sound designer.

The drive sound of the future BMW Concept i4 is the second sound developed for BMW electric vehicles with Hans Zimmer. The first was the sound presented at the Munich event in June 2019 for the BMW Vision M NEXT.

Both to avoid the controversy that electric cars are dangerous because they do not make any noise and to make driving more enjoyable, BMW's initiative to add sound to its electric cars It certainly has many advantages. There don't seem to be any problems with the sound, unless the most purists suffer from the artificiality of the situation. In any case, in July of this year we will see how BMW makes this initiative official, which is undoubtedly an example to be followed by the rest of the brands. And even more so in the face of this new decade where all the new developments will be oriented towards electrification.