BMW has officially unveiled the BMW i8, slightly ahead of its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show that kicked off today. The hybrid sportscar is a two + two coupe with doors that go up and futuristic design cues that will be sure to turn heads. Power comes from a 1.5-liter, turbocharged, three-cylinder engine that cranks out 231 horses and 236 lb-ft. of torque which is then mated to a six-speed automatic transmission. Add in the electric motor and you get an additional 131 hp and 184 lb-ft of torque through a two-speed automatic to the front wheels. That’s all-wheel drive motion with 362 horses and 320 lb-ft of torque, with a 0-62 time of 4.4 seconds. Fuel economy figures are impressive as well with 94 miles per gallon and a full charge coming from a 110-volt outlet in less than four hours. BMW Charging Stations can bring that time down to 1.5 hours.
The car comes with full LED headlights standard and you can opt for the world’s first laser headlights which are brighter and consume less energy. One of the coolest features on deck is ConnectedDrive, BMW’s i Remote smartphone app, which can send you updates on nearby charging stations and give you a bird’s eye view of your i8 via he Surround View camera system.
Look for the BMW i8 to hit showrooms in early 2014 with a pricetag of $135,925, making it the second most expensive car in the BMW fleet, right behind the 760Li.
