Spied - BMW i8 continues its test run across the globe

The BMW i8 hybrid supercar is undergoing its final phase of testing as suggested by frequent spyshots of the camouflaged test mules that are pouring in from across the world.

We presented to the spyshot of the car which was spotted testing in Las Vegas a few days back and now we return with the spyshots from Europe. The supercar is doing some serious miles before heading for a market launch which, by the look of things, is not far away.

As you can see from the images, the design of the production version has hardly changed from that of the i8 Concept. Like any other performance automobile, the i8 is low and wide with every surface doing its bit to improve the aerodynamic efficiency. The butterfly wings at the rear is easily the highlight of the design.

Power comes from a combination of a three cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor. While the rear mounted IC engine takes care of the rear wheels, the electric motor sits on the front axle. The combined output of the production version is yet to be announced. The concept car was capable of 349bhp.

The i8 uses carbon fibre extensively, thanks to BMW's cost and time effective way of fabricating the composite material. As a result, you get an extremely light supercar which can accelerate from 0-100 in under 5 seconds while delivering a fuel economy of 37.07 kpl. The car can travel as long as 35km on pure electricity (all the performance stats correspond to the BMW i8 concept).

We expect the production version of the BMW i8 to make its debut at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September along with the i3 electric city car.

[Source: Reporter.Autoplus.fr]