There’ a new crop of nerds. Not the old-style outcasts of high school, but instead, the new age definition where brains are worn as a badge of honor. And this is their car.

The BMW i3 is intelligence for the road by offering an electric vehicle that’s engineered to maximize every last kilowatt. And it does so while boldly standing out from the crowd — loudly and proudly proclaiming its nerd-mobile status.

Its short stubby nose and blocky build give the i3 a memorable silhouette. BMW’s hallmark twin-kidney grille helps create an angry face, but the standard tri-tone color options make the whole package feel a bit livelier. So the total impression is like an electric bulldog on wheels (bet you’ll never find that kind of comparison on any other car.)

The front doors are large enough to look like a coupe, but there’s a second set of rear-hinged ones for better access to the back seats. Other cars of the last decade like the Honda Element and Mazda RX-8 have done this, too, but the i3 seems to open larger and wider, which makes it particularly impressive.

The extra exposure comes from its revolutionary construction. The frame is made of carbon fiber reinforced plastic. It’s a material that’s both extremely lightweight and exceptionally strong. BMW left it unpainted in the door jams so the cool nerds can marvel at the metallic-like weave that isn’t found in many production vehicles.

Once inside, this electric car reminds that it’s one with nature. The seats are made from a broad thread that looks like woven on a country loom. The optional leather was tanned with olive leaf extract. The dash and door panels have a fibrous appearance that clearly came from recycled plastics. And completing the natural atmosphere is the optional open-pore Eucalyptus Wood flowing over the glovebox and under the infotainment screen. BMW says it’s one of the most sustainable lumbers available, but really, we just like how it gives the i3 a unique and premium atmosphere.

Read more: Fort Myers Florida Weekly

Auto Express singled out BMW for tech innovation across the board

The Auto Express New Car Awards took place yesterday, and among all the awards – from the Pick-up of the Year to the Small SUV of the Year – there were two slightly newer categories; Best Electric Car and the Technology Award. As you’d expect, the first went to the best EV on the roads today, and the latter was awarded to the brand with the most innovation across the board – and BMW won them both.

Electric Car of the Year – BMW i3

The BMW i3 is one of the most important cars on the road today. Sure, it’s not got the speed or the glamour of its i8 sibling, and it doesn’t sale in the same numbers as the Leaf, but the i3 is still an iconic electric car. Inside and out, it displays new thinking, innovative design and a sophisticated technology – three things BMW’s i brand has become known for. Fresh from a new facelift, Auto Express awarded it the title of Best Electric Car, beating competition from the new Renault Zoe and the Tesla Model S.

Technology Award – BMW

BMW also won the Technology award, but before we explain why, it’s worth outlining exactly what the award is for. Rather than in-car tech alone, the Technology Award is designed to recognise brands that are innovating across the board, inside the car and out, from apps to hybrid vehicles.

Read more: alpher

Somewhere along the way, throughout the history of the automobile, car interiors started to all replicate each other. Go back five or six decades and car cabins were all remarkably different, with unique ideas and ways of doing things.

However, modern cars are all very, very similar on the inside. Across brands, segments and price points, car cabins are mostly the same, in terms of overall layout, shape and technology. But there is one outlier in the industry and that’s the BMW i3.

Step into the BMW i3 and it’s almost like a different world, compared to other cars. It’s so different from anything else on the market that it’s almost unnerving. Whereas you can pretty much get in any car these days and immediately understand how to control and operate it and its systems, the i3 is different. There’s a learning curve and that throws people at first. And it isn’t even just because it’s an electric car, therefore lacking the need for conventional powertrain, as it differs greatly from every other electric car as well.

It’s sort of funny, as there have been quite a few modern cars that try and attempt a retro look with their cabins. The current Mustang, with its classic dials and dash layout, is one of them. Yet, the BMW i3 takes you twenty years into the future. There’s so much negative space, so much interior room that’s it’s almost shocking. In front of the funky two-spoke steering wheel is a single screen that displays the simplest of information and nothing more. The iDrive screen sort of floats above a section of negative space that’s often covered in eucalyptus wood and surrounded by exposed, unfinished carbon fiber reinforced plastic.