Yesterday at the masterpiece that was the Galpin Car Show, someone brought in an electric vehicle conversion so brilliant I almost needed a paper bag to control my breathing. It was a first-gen Corvette that had been glued and also bolted to the frame of a BMW i3. While I don’t have a ton of details showing exactly how it was done, here’s just a quick look at this incredible machine.
The cool thing about the BMW i3 that many people don’t realize is that, unlike pretty much any modern small car, it’s technically a body-on-frame design. The body is a ridiculously lightweight carbon fiber “Life Module” that you and I could easily carry, the body panels are plastic pieces that just snap onto that carbon body, and underneath it all — holding the powertrain, suspension, and battery — is an aluminum “Drive Module” that includes some pretty sizable castings.
It’s basically a “frame,” and it’s quite a masterpiece, as I’ve mentioned far, far too many times. Have a look:
As for as EV conversions go, the BMW i3 platform is not one commonly used, and I’m not entirely sure why. I bet many folks think it’d be silly to use just the Drive Module when the real pièce de résistance was the carbon fiber Life Module. But oftentimes i3s get into wrecks that crack the carbon fiber, totalling the vehicle — partly because BMW i3s have just become so cheap.
To find a totaled i3 on Copart is quite easy; and with a minty-fresh version of these cars selling for under $10 grand, you know the totaled cars are going for pennies:
So I’m surprised I don’t see more BMW i3s being used as donor cars for EV conversions. One great candidate, as I learned at the Galpin Car Show, is the gen 1 Chevy Corvette, which has a wheelbase less than an inch away from the i3’s.
One enterprising Californian, shown below pointing out all the stuff normally founder under the hood of the i3 (cooling system/HVAC components, as well as the 12-volt battery, brake system, power electronics, and on and on):
In the rear, under the trunk lid is the electric motor and gasoline range extender:
Here’s Huibert using his eyes to create a 3-D CAD model in his brain:
Check out the skinny, stock tires:
If you look closely at the wheels you’ll see a Chevy center cap:
What I found most interesting was the cabin. This particular gen-1 Corvette looked to be some kind of race-inspired, aftermarket-bodied machine, with just space for a single driver. Remarkably, pretty much all cabin controls from the i3s were somehow shoved into that small space. You can see the small gauge cluster screen ahead of the steering wheel:
The entire HVAC/radio unit is off to the right of the driver:
And between the two is the shifter and the iDrive controller:
It looks like an old Corvette on the outside, but it’s an i3 underneath, and — per the owner, who told me he basically glued the body onto the car using BMW’s own glue, which apparently cost an arm and a leg — the thing is quick.
And with the range extender, I bet it’s quite practical, as the donor was a 2020 car, which normally goes about 150 miles on the battery and 75 miles on the gas generator.
It was easily a top-10 car for me at the Galpin Car Show, and that’s saying a lot, because the show was absolutely bonkers. More on it soon.
This is 6” too short of a wheelbase, but something like this?
https://dansperformanceparts.com/mgm-frp-manx-style-dune-buggy-long-body/
That PCB-inspired stripe is just so, so, so perfect.
Area man concedes that this is quite the genius idea.
That i3 skateboard looks like a lot of fun is the basis of a kit car.
Hmm,
https://www.slotforum.com/attachments/cl114_3-jpg.310689/
This looks awesome! I like how it’s just the i3 with a different body. Good reuse of a likely scrap car.
This is very cool, and it looks like the owner had a blast building it. I hope it inspires DT to do a project like this — maybe with a faux Jeep exterior.
I am not sure anything about the car is a real Corvette. It looks like a kit car but built from parts from Manny Mow and Jack. Or that old catalogue. It looks like crap
Quick question-
“150 miles on the battery and 75 miles on the gas generator.”
Is this 75 miles on the gas generator until it runs out of gas? If someone was to roadtrip an i3 could they just keep filling the generator gas tank up and driving or would the battery have to be recharged at some point?
I think DT said previously that the i3 doesn’t have full power on the rex alone. As in, it won’t travel at highway speeds
I think it does drive highway speeds with the rex — just with fairly reduced acceleration/power.
I think it’ll be fine on the flats. Hills at freeway speeds with the A/C on may be tough.
“he basically glued the body onto the car using BMW’s own glue, which apparently cost an arm and a leg”
Literally, if he gets in a collision.
Nice to know DT hasn’t gone totally Hollywood
This looks really jerry-rigged. Plus its using innards from an outdated car with a limited EV range and a useless “Range Extender”. Plus the accents with the electric crap looks really cheesy.
The range extender isn’t useless. The car isn’t ideally suited for long trips (ie it’s great for most driving) — but if driving farther than 150 miles, the extender is absolutely an asset.
Way cool imo.
Meh.
Kindig did it better. For clearly a lot more money – but a lot nicer end result.
The skinny tires look right at home under a C1. Although after seeing your chronicles of potential failures in the i3 leading to it being mechanically totalled, I’m not surprised these don’t get used as donor platforms more often.
I agree, but if a conversion like this could eliminate the need for odd-sized tires instead, it could pay for itself in a few years!
Take care of the compressor, and the i3 is pretty much unstoppable.
So a car with a (potentially) faulty compressor is “unstoppable” but a car with a timing belt is “unreliable” because you have to maintain it?
Just asking because I’m that kind of guy.
I have a 911 engine full of metal shavings. I can’t afford to fix it without having to sell the car that it’s in so the car just sits in a container.
Yeah that’s the big one but I still don’t like the idea of having a $15k time bomb in the car, or whatever silly amount it costs to replace everything full of metal shavings. I will concede it’s pretty much unstoppable for a BMW. At least it’s not an E60.
or whatever silly amount it costs to replace everything full of metal shavings.
Earlier this year the A/C in my Gen7 Accord failed. I quickly determined it was not a fuse or relay but a loss of freon. Assuming the problem was a blown compressor as is being discussed here. I looked into what a DIY replacement would involve.
Turns out not that much. Yes you need to replace pretty much everything but on a Gen7 Accord you can buy all the parts you need on Amazon for under $500. You need to flush out the evaporator and the lines which for *REASONS* takes a special (expensive) fluid but its a simple task.
Labor looked quite approachable for a shade tree mechanic. All the A/C tools could be borrowed from my local Autozone. Basically a weekend for a first timer.
As it turned out the compressor was fine. The failure was the fill valve which cost $5 so with that and $20 of freon the A/C is working again.
I get this BMW parts are probably much more expensive BUT the labor may not be that bad, especially since it’s an electric compressor. It’s probably worth looking into whether that compressor is common to other cars and may be cheaper branded as a “VW” than a “BMW”.
The problem with the i3 is that the metal shavings end up going into the battery pack cooling system where they cannot be retrieved.
It’s sort of like an oil pump coming apart, oil pumps are cheap. The rest of the engine, not so much.
That’s brilliant!
Get your body kit here:
https://customimagecorvettes.com/product/1959-corvette-replica-roadster/
My wife is about to upgrade from her ’15 i3. Now, instead of planning to use it as my commuter, I’m having dirty and stupid thoughts of mating up an XJ body.
“There’s a fine line between genius and insanity. I have erased this line.”
― Oscar Levant
“Such a fine line between stupid and clever.”
— Nigel Tufnel
I was all sorts of impressed until we got to the utter hack job that is the interior. Ugh. Nice idea though.
I dig it.
Thank you Maynard G Krebs.
This is the greatest kind of hack job there is. Reuse the parts, but move them around as necessary to make them fit.
I’ve been doing some hard thinking about doing this to my factory-stock, pristine Honda Clarity, as the park/drive control buttons are mounted on huge space-hogging plastic “bridge” between the dashboard and the console box between the seats.
It’s gorgeous looking, but every time I look at it I lament the complete waste of space that goofy thing takes up.
I think everyone who has a modern Honda has thought the same.
Some time with a 3d printer, some glue, some pleather and some veneer would clean it up pretty effectively.
I like the idea and would love to drive it. Though I need bit more room with a family of three. The concept is solid.
Next DT article…..”I’ve Decided Not To Sell My Redundant i3 (So I Can Make an Electric Jeepster)”
I can only assume the lack of a DT response is because he is too busy scrolling marketplace looking for the right donor Jeepster….
I’m kinda surprised David wasn’t more excited about it and already planning to convert his entire non-i3 fleet to i3 EV conversions.
So… which of your Jeep bodies will fit on that wheelbase?
An XJ wheelbase is only .4 inches longer than the i3. I know he just downsized his fleet, but…
Moab is coming up in March, that gives him around *5 mos to get started!
*(Only 5 mos because he’s supposed to be living in that Aztek!!!)
The issue is the XJ is unibody
“Duct tape is like the force it has a light side, a dark side and it binds the whole universe together”
Duct tape holds the universe together David. if it can do that it can hold your jeep onto a chassis.
nothing a cut-off wheel can’t fix
But, some of the unlicensed Chinese copies were body on frame, surely somebody would stuff one in a shipping container for the right money
Sadly, China for the most part does not value its automotive history, and pretty much all of these cars are scrap. (But I like where your head’s at).
Would a Wrangler Unlimited be close?
Early CJ-6 and Jeepster are the closest, apparently.
https://www.cjponyparts.com/resources/jeep-wheelbase-chart
And you’re going to let a little thing like THAT stop you?
Now I’m getting Meyers Manx ideas …
This is my kind of crazy right here. I bet you could weld a Beetle floor pan right on to the BMW skateboard and just build out from there. This is the best idea
You can probably do it for way less than $100k they want charge for the new Manx 2.0 EV, too.
You can buy the whole kit directly from Meyers for under 7k. The cost of the seats, wheels I would imagine you could do the entire thing for the cost of a donor I3, 10k and lots of swearing
My first Meyers kit was around $600. Don’t know what that equals in today dollars, but $6500 probably isn’t too far off. Still a good deal if you’re willing to put in the time.
Darn, I’m fresh out of swears.
That’s a shame, it’s a crucial part of working on cars. I’m on my fourth VW, I’ve been forced to invent a few of my own.
Helps to learn a second language.
Can you just title it as the salvaged i3?
I think that’s a ‘depends on the state’ issue. Every state does it a little bit differently, and you’d likely have to get a salvage rebuilt title where I live, but you might be able to title it as a kit built somewhere else
I believe that would work in California. I’ve bought a salvaged and rebuilt vehicle before. If I recall correctly I had to have a regular inspection, along with a separate light and brake inspection. Then the California Highway Patrol inspected it making sure all numbers matched.