Plug-in hybrid

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SoQNX5WF1M]
2 BMW i8s at a GAS STATION

Reuters got the numbers from the Los Angeles Auto Show

Luxury carmaker BMW has orders for nearly 10,000 of its i3 electric cars, the first of which were delivered in Germany last week, the company’s global sales chief, Ian Robertson, said at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday.

Robertson also said the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car due to be introduced in mid-2014 has sold out for its first year of availability. He did not say how many the company will sell in that first year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-SoQNX5WF1M#t=45

Being shown filling up is not exactly good PR for BMW who’ve already shown off the full sized carbon-fiber i8 in promos. This would be one of the first public sightings.  If you aren’t familiar with how the i8 works, it has an interesting 131 hp front electric engine and a rear 231HP engine that sends it hurdling forward with a 4.4 0-60.

Think further to go further. The intelligent plug-in hybrid system in the BMW i8 combines the benefits of an electric motor and a petrol engine into an extraordinary driving experience: highest efficiency and maximum dynamics are simultaneously possible. The electric drive, a powerful 96 kW (131 hp), is located on the front axle. The rear axle is driven by an authoritative BMW TwinPower Turbo 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine with 170 kW (231 hp) of peak performance and up to 320 Nm of torque; combined with the electrical boost of the hybrid system, it guarantees typical BMW driving pleasure.

Together the pair accelerates the BMW i8 from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds*. And this with an enormous saving in fuel consumption and CO2 emissions, as it uses just 2.5* l per 100 km and emits 59 g/km*.

Although I’m not a fan of the 131 EV engine (matches $19K Chevy Spark!) I do like the look of this thing!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m3JAtvsqfF8

via InsideEVs