BMW has never been a company of conservative designers. After all, this was the company that hired Chris Bangle to design their models, including the infamous 7-Series->ke323 with the massive rear end. The same design was used on the 3-Series->ke290 and the 5-Series->ke317, and each was criticized by the automotive media.

We admire them for their bold adventures and we liked the 5- and 3-Series. There have been some which were plain awful, like the 5-Series GT, but overall things have been decent.

BMW engineers have taken a turn to the right with a new Mega City Vehicle (MCV) electric machine. This will be another green car that looks like it was taken straight out of the future for BMW. Remember the Vision Plug-In Hybrid->ke3491 and the Active E? A word of advice for BMW, you won't make much money creating concepts. It's time to put one of these into production. Maybe they should just start with the MCV.

Hit the jump to continue reading.

BMW’s->ke178 future plans are bold enough to make into a television special. As we stated earlier, the German automaker has created the 1-Series Active E and the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept and now we have the MegaCity Vehicle, or MCV. The MCV will be an all-electric vehicle with modern looks. It demonstrates one way in which the BMW Group envisages future mobility in urban surroundings.

The MCV isn’t just one vehicle; it was made to represent a range of technologies that BMW could introduce across its entire fleet. There should be variations, including an all-electric, range extended electric, and high efficiency gasoline and diesel models.

The rendering shown here is of the first all-electric vehicle that we should get in 2013. It should be able to seat four people and will use a massive array of lightweight voodoo to boost the car's overall efficiency. Carbon Fiber Reinforced Plastic will play a huge role in the construction of the car and it will most likely be built in BMW’s Leipzig plant. The carbon fiber will be sourced from the good old United States.

Under the hood – or wherever the motor is – will be a 134 horsepower electric motor running on lithium-ion batteries that will power the rear-wheels. The range-extending version with a compact internal combustion engine will probably also be launched.

"The drive system remains the heartbeat of a car, and that also applies to electric vehicles. Powertrains also remain a core area of expertise of Bayerische Motoren Werke. Electromobility and the hallmark BMW driving pleasure make an excellent match, if you go about things the right way. For this reason we are developing the powertrain for the Megacity Vehicle in-house – that includes the electric motor, the power electronics and the battery system."

According to a few sources, BMW is now testing the MCV in several test facilities in Europe.