The BMW 1602 Elektro-Antrieb turns 50

Did you think the BMW i3 was the first electric BMW? We have to tell you that you are mistaken. The first electric car from BMW celebrates its fiftieth anniversary, as it made its public debut at the 1972 Munich Olympic Games. Specifically, it was a BMW 1602 called Elektro-Antrieb, which we can translate as “electric drive”.

It was unveiled in an eye-catching orange colour with gold lettering on the doors commemorating that edition of the Munich Olympic Games. The Bavarian brand itself says that “BMW had an excellent vision of the future, since they anticipated the great oil crisis of 1973. Likewise, the big step was taken, arising from the idea of electrifying its vehicles because the future would require it, and it can be seen how forty years later this became a reality with the presentation of the first BMW i3”.

This is the electric BMW 1602 that turns 50

The BMW 1602 Elektro-Antrieb was developed on the basis and framework of contemporary combustion models such as the BMW 1602 or the legendary BMW 2002, even sharing exactly the same bodywork and exterior appearance. The truth is that there was no difference between the models other than the removal of the exhaust pipe.

Under the bonnet were fitted twelve standard 12-volt lead-acid batteries developed by Varta, which weighed approximately 350 kilograms. The electric motor of the BMW 1602 Elektro-Antrieb delivered 43 CV and was installed beside the batteries. The motor was capable of driving the propeller shaft that turned the rear wheels.

As the German manufacturer has confirmed, the BMW 1602 electric featured the initial technological systems that have gradually been improved and adapted up to the present day, such as regenerative braking, since the motor also worked as a generator and could return some of the energy produced to the batteries that made the full operation of the vehicle possible.