Germany’s Visio.M consortium, which includes BMW, Daimler, the Federal Highway Research Institute and others, has received $15 million of funding from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

The target of the consortium is to develop an electric car with a range of at least 62 miles, a top speed of more than 75 mph, and a vehicle weight of less than 882 lbs without batteries, all within 3 years!

The concept vehicle is named the Visio.M Electric Vehicle, and is based on the MUTE electric research vehicle developed by TUM.

The base vehicle uses a 15 kW electric motor which should be sufficient because of the low vehicle weight, and will rely on cabon fiber and carbon fiber reinforced plastics.

The first electric vehicle to be produced (in non-limited numbers) will be the BMW i3. The i3 will also use a lightweight carbon fiber monocoque body structure.

Visio.M says the concept vehicle passed initial chassis tests and some of the electronic system have been tested at a site near Munich.