UNVEILED: BMW I8 CONCEPT AMAZES, HEADS TO JOZI

The BMW i8 Concept car was officially launched last Friday at a glitzy ceremony where the company and its bosses unveiled the upcoming hybrid sports car to the world. The 2+2 seater (2 front , 2 at the back) will be the second of BMW’s new i cars, following the smaller i3.

i8’s measurements are as follows: length is 4.6 metres, height 1.3m, width 1.95m and wheelbase is 2.8m. That makes it overall more or less the same size as the current 3 Series Coupe (E90). Of course it will be notably lighter than that, coming in at about 1500kg, thanks to advanced construction and weight-saving methods. Full LED lights will be standard, complimented by taut surfaces, precise edges and sweeping lines.

Sharing power provision duties will be a petrol engine and an electric motor, unlike the first Vision EfficientDynamics Concept car which used a turbo diesel engine instead. Total system output is expected to be 260kW and 550Nm, of which the petrol engine will provide 164kW and 300Nm respectively.

BMW sees the i8 running from standstill to 100km/h in just 4.6 seconds, with top whack limited to 250km/h. For a car of this nature, average fuel consumption of 2.7 litres per 100km is nothing short of incredible, if it can be replicated in real life. Even if it can’t, real life driving could possibly return 4 to 5 litres per 100km at worst, still bloody amazing given what the car’s performance.

Advanced navigation will be one of the car’s big attractions. The two navigation modes "Last Mile Navigation" and "Intermodal Route Planning" are designed particularly with urban environments in mind. Last Mile Navigation continues to navigate the driver even after he gets out of the vehicle, by sending instructions to his smartphone which will direct him quickly and reliably on the "last lap", for example from the car park to the museum entrance. And when the driver is ready to head back, he can quickly locate his parked vehicle using the CarFinder function.

An example of the BMW i8 is expected to appear at the 2011 Johannesburg International Motor Show in October, alongside its smaller i3 sibling and the new M5, among others.