BMW's i8 a Vision to behold

There are words not often seen in the same sentence. Chief among these are 'Plug-in' and 'Supercar'.

Yet BMW appears to have contrived a machine that brings together these disparate concepts -- and it's pictured right here.

Planned to be the flagship of BMW's new 'i' sub-brand and named the i8, the pre-production vehicle was caught by the master spy photographers at Carparazzi while undergoing cold-weather trials in Sweden. The i8 will be the production version of the Vision EfficientDynamics concept car unveiled at the Frankfurt Motor Show two years ago.

Sleek as it is, the i8 is expected to offer 2+2 seating -- not a lot of accommodation for a car that's likely to sell in Europe for around 150,000 Euros. Performance will make up for any deficit though; the blokes at Carparrazi have heard that the acceleration time to 100km/h from rest will be 4.8 seconds.

Another point of interest gleaned by the Carparazzi crew relates to the production car's internal combustion engine, a turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine rather than the diesel fitted to the concept car.

-- with Carparazzi

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