BMW i8 Concept Spyder Super Car

BMW, Costly, Cute Cars, Cute Concept, Cute Decoration, Expensive, New Technology,

BMW i8 Concept Spyder Super Car
What's most stunning about the BMW i8 Concept Spyder the German automaker isn't the 350-hp plug-in hybrid technology,
the laser-powered headlights or the auto-show touches such as folding electric kickboards. It's that BMW plans to build something with most of these features, in a car looking much
like this, within a few years. This is not a dream. The latest evolution of BMW i-Series concepts expected at this week's
New York auto show wears an exterior that while still futuristic, represents a viable look at what BMW will build in two years. When BMW chief designer Adrian von Hooydonk told us in Detroit the production i8s would strongly resemble the
concepts, this -- the layered bodywork, the laser headlights
and the tri-tone accents -- was what he meant. Even the i8
Concept Spyder's scissor doors look less showy than purposeful here. What's most stunning about the BMW i8 Concept
Spyder the German automaker isn't the 350-hp plug-in
hybrid technology, the laser-powered headlights or the
auto-show touches such as folding electric kickboards.
It's that BMW plans to build something with most of
these features, in a car looking much like this, within
a few years. This is not a dream.

The latest evolution of BMW i-Series concepts expected at this week's New York auto show wears an exterior that while still futuristic, represents a viable look at what BMW will build
in two years. When BMW chief designer Adrian von
Hooydonk told us in Detroit the production i8s would
strongly resemble the concepts, this -- the layered
bodywork, the laser headlights and the tri-tone
accents -- was what he meant. Even the i8
Concept Spyder's scissor doors look less
showy than purposeful here.


Like most auto show concepts, the i8 Concept Spyder moves thanks to a combination of battery and engine -- namely a
96 kW electric motor tied to a 223-hp turbocharged
three cylinder engine, for a total output of 354 hp.
Unlike most concepts, BMW pledges hard
performance targets of 0-60 mph in about five
seconds, some 19 miles on electric power alone,
a top speed of 155 mph and fuel economy
of 94 mpg in European testing.

That kind of performance was made possible by BMW's engineering efforts around the body, mating a carbon-fiber passenger cell to aluminum sub frames for the engine and
battery. Doing so, BMW claims, allowed it to eliminate
the extra weight a plug-in hybrid system usually carries
while maintaining the 50/50 front-rear weight split for
handling that BMW owners rejoice in. And BMW has programmed the system to choose front, rear or
all-wheel-drive as it sees fit

Inside, BMW's promising a welter of intelligent software advancements that would anticipate drivers' needs, such
warming the batteries before departure or finding charging
stations along a route. It claims the batteries can be recharged
in under two hours from a standard household outlet, and
while at your destination the i8 Concept Spyder has two
folding electric kickboards -- essentially Razor scooters
with mini motors -- which the automaker touts as
"perfect for relaxed cruising along promenades
and paths or around city squares."

Those won't make it off the auto show floor. But the rest of
BMW i8 Concept Spyder appears tantalizingly close,
although rumors from Europe suggest the i-Series will
match their high goals with high prices, possibly above
$100,000. Even then, if BMW can produce something
with this performance and design, the future will have
a new classic.

Click On Image For Full Size View

Click On Image For Full Size View

Click On Image For Full Size View

By: IMRAN ♥ ALAM