16. 1972 BMW 1602 E
Perhaps the most “ordinary” looking electric car came out of Germany and it debuted at the Summer Olympics. BMW is usually a company that’s ahead of the curve when it comes to technological advancements, and the E-Series was the first of its kind. Take one look at the sleek, swooping design of the coupe and you’re sure to see something that looks drivable and approachable. The 1972 BMW 1602 E was powered by twelve lead-acid starter batteries, which was ahead of the curve before Lithium-Ion came along. The 1602 E was the first electric car with refinement. The styling was subtle, but the car was revolutionary in a lot of ways.
With that array of batteries, you managed to squeeze out a whopping 42-horsepower. But don’t let that figure scare you, the sleekly-designed BMW could still manage 62 MPH. The interior featured a barebones version of a BMW interior to save on the overall weight of the vehicle. The range of 37 miles was also less than the other mini-electric cars that we covered. Sadly, the 1602 E was only a conceptual design and the physical vehicle never went into production. Needless to say, BMW was almost ahead of its time with a modern designed electric vehicle.