BMW to launch the futuristic i8 on February 18th
BMW has officially announced that it will launch the much anticipated i8 supercar in India on 18th February in Mumbai. The i8 will be the first plug-in hybrid supercar in the country and will pave the way for its younger sibling, the i3 which will be launched sometime later this year.
The BMW i8 comes with a 1.5 litre three cylinder twin scroll turbo engine that churns out 231PS of power which is driven to the rear wheels, while the front wheels are powered by a 131 PS electric motor, which takes the combined power of the car to 362PS; the electrical power unit has been built by BMW from scratch. BMW claims that solely in the electric mode the i8 will be capable of reaching a top speed of 120 kmph and that the batteries will last the entire lifetime of the car. The three cylinder unit is BMW’s first.
Press the throttle and the petrol engine kicks in pulling the car from a standstill to a 100kmph in 4.4 seconds. According to European cycle, the car is capable of delivering a fuel economy of 48kmpl, but it can assumed that in the real world scenario the car should be able to return 20kmpl, which is way more superior than any supercar in production.
The exteriors of the i8 still have the typical BMW touch including the kidney grille, which is closed off as a glossy unit; the grille is edged by sharp head lights. The overall stance of the car is aggressive, with the wheel arches that further accentuate the wide track and muscular frame of the car; the wing-like doors give the BMW i8 the cool factor. The interiors of the BMW i8 are futuristic looking as its exteriors, with dials that change colour depending on the driving mode chosen. It also comes with a heads up display which shows all the relevant information on the windscreen. It is anticipated that the BMW i8 maybe priced at Rs 1.5 crore ex-showroom.
Here is the official BMW i8 international launch video