We knew BMW’s new i3 got off to a good start, but it looks like the more expensive i8 plug-in hybrid sports car is doing well too. According to the carmaker’s global sales chief, Ian Robertson, BMW has already sold the 2014 supply for the i8.
However, the executive didn’t say how many units of the i8 sports car (due to be introduced in mid-2014) will be sold next year. The BMW i8 is priced from €126,000 in Germany, while in the UK it has a base price of £99,125. In the United States, BMW will offer the i8 from $135,700.
Robertson told Reuters news that there are nearly 10,000 orders for the i3 electric car, for which deliveries started in mid-November in Germany. The BMW i3 will arrive in U.S. dealerships in the second quarter of 2014.
As a reminder, the BMW i8 features a plug-in hybrid powertrain featuring a 1.5-liter 3-cylinder twin-turbocharged petrol engine developing 231 PS (228hp) and 320 Nm (236 lb-ft) of torque that drives the rear wheels via a 6-speed automatic gearbox and a synchronous electric motor developing 96kW (129hp) and 250 Nm (184 lb-ft) of torque that turns the front wheels via a two-stage automatic transmission. There’s also a 5 kWh lithium-ion high-voltage battery with liquid cooling.
The car’s combined system output of 362 PS (357hp) and 570 Nm (420 lb-ft) allows it to sprint from 0 to 100 km/h (62mph) in 4.4 seconds and reach a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). Average fuel economy is estimated at 2.5 l/100 km (113 mpg UK, 94 mpg US) – obviously, including the use of the battery.
By Dan Mihalascu
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