One of the year’s most anticipated debuts – the Frankfurt Motor Show unveiling of BMW’s i8 hybrid sports car – is getting close and some information is cascading from Germany.
First-up the engine. How does a 170kW turbocharged 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with a 96kW electric motor sound? Combined, BMW says they’re good for 266kW/570Nm…and that adds-up to a real sports car in anyone’s language.
It’s a complex arrangement with electric drive to the front wheels and internal combustion to the rear – all via a six-speed automatic transmission.
Aided by extensive use of carbon-fibre and aluminium, the BMW i8 tips the scales at just 1490kgs (just a tad lighter than the Z4 35is) so zero to 100km/h will be under 4.5-seconds we’re told.
But of course the big-ticket item is fuel consumption and this legitimate sports car will be good for 2.5l/100kms (4.5l/100kms for the Lexus CT 200h).
Electrical power comes from lithium-ion batteries and BMW calculates a maximum range between re-charge/re-fuelling of more than 500kms.
