After all the wallpaper test mules and the "will-they, won't-they" styling questions, what looks like a production i8 is poised on the BMW stand at Geneva. And it's impressive.
Too often a perfectly good concept car––the 1989 Buick Skylark comes to mind––evolves into "good idea, now build it with available parts" and you wind up with something that looks like the 1993 "parade float."
Will the i8 deliver in the performance department? According to everything that has been said, the answer is yes. It will have a 1.5-liter turbocharged gas engine, delivering 220 bhp, combined with two electric motors with a another 128 bhp, for a total power output of 348 bhp.
With all these motors running the car will do 0-60 in 4.6 seconds, thanks to being made out of CFRP and being extremely light. As a hybrid, the gas mileage will be equally impressive and the whole package will be smarter, as the average super car costs four to eight times the i8's anticpated $100,000 (or so) price. Reserve your copy now.––Paul Duchene
