we all know the future of automobile is going to be all-out electric, but between now and then, reducing your carbon footprint while still keeping up with your passion for cars would be by the way of plug-in hybrid. hybrid, being a close relative to all-electric vehicle, need not to look tame as proven by the BMW i8 Plug-in Hybrid Coupe. in all seriousness, this is a production that your hard earned dough can buy and speaking of which, it will be heading to US dealership in Spring 2014 with a price tag of $135,925. the i8 has come a long since its first debut as a concept two years ago at the Frankfurt Motor Show. two years on, at the same show, it is a ready for the road vehicle, albeit being on the luxury territory.
the driving force behind this uber sporty coupe is a 1.5-liter turbocharged, three-pod unit that turns out a healthy 231 horses (170 kW) and 320 Nm (236 lb-ft) of torque; sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed automatic gearbox. joining the IC engine is an electric motor with 131 hp (96 kW) and 250 Nm (184 lb-ft) of torque, channeled to the front wheels through a two-stage automatic transmission – thereby blessing it with an unique all-wheel drive system. all told, total system power comes in at 362 hp (266 kW) with 520 Nm (420 lb-ft) of torque, which allows the 1,490 kilograms (3,285 lbs) i8 to make the century sprint in just 4.4 seconds – a figure that clearly puts the vehicle in the high-performance sports car domain. the best part of the equation is, it does all that with a fuel consumption of 2.5 liters per 100 km or 113 US mpg. it can do 35 kilometers (22 miles) on pure electric power with a stop speed of 120 km/h (75 mph).
other key features include an aluminum chassis with CFRP and CFRP-aluminum elements, five driving modes, Dynamic Damper Control, 20-inch light allow wheels, full-LED headlights, a fully digital instrumentation, BMW iDrive with freestanding Control Display, a range of BMW ConnectedDrive features, and leather sport seats – all wrapped up in a hard to resist package, including a set of graceful upwards opening doors. as always, good looking cars always deserve a few more look, which you can find in the image gallery below. enjoy (cos’ we did).
