Before all that BMW iPerformance fanciness, the Bavarian automaker had a much simpler electric car. That car was the BMW 1602e.
Without the 1602e, it's possible that BMW wouldn't be where it is today with innovative electric cars like the i3 or the i8.
Let's take a look back at it all started.
This is the car that started BMW's dive into electric cars.
BMW used 12 normal 12V car batteries in the 1602, but they were all combined to function as a single, massive cell. Combined, the batteries weighed 771 lbs.
Lightweight lithium-Ion battery tech that's used commonly today wasn't available back then, so the 12 batteries that are used in the 1602e were lead-acid type.
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