BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition—the only one—will be auctioned at Pebble Beach August 16.
This special edition will include laser headlights. It will be the first car in the U.S. to have this technology, which extends the high-beam illumination out to 600 yards. Laser headlights are still pending DOT approval, so if necessary, they will be retrofitted when they are approved. The new owner of the i8 Concours d’Elegance edition will also receive a BMW i8 Display key with integrated LCD touchscreen and the Professional Edition of BMW’s Charging Station.
The BMW i8’s all-wheel-drive powertrain uses an electric motor to drive the front wheels and a powerful and efficient 1.5-liter BMW TwinPower Turbo three-cylinder gasoline engine driving the rear wheels. It can drive on pure electric power at speeds up to 75 mph for approximately 20 miles, producing zero tailpipe emissions. When the gasoline engine works in concert with the electric motor, they can propel the i8 from zero to 60 miles per hour in 4.2 seconds. Top speed is an electronically limited 155 miles per hour.
Lightweight aluminum and carbon-fiber reinforced plastic help reduce the car’s overall weight, which in turn makes the i8 as fuel efficient as some subcompact cars. Its lithium-ion battery pack can be charged from any 240-volt level 2 charging station as well as conventional 110-volt outlets.
The sale of this one-of-a-kind car at the Pebble Beach Auctions will be handled by Gooding & Company on Saturday, August 16 in the Pebble Beach Special Events area. Proceeds from the sale will benefit the Pebble Beach Company Foundation and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. If you’d like to bid, or just watch a live stream of the auction, go to http://www.goodingco.com.
Pebble Beach—the concours as well as the auctions—has always represented the pinnacle of automotive excellence in the style, originality, and presentation of the world’s most beautiful cars. The BMW i8 Concours d’Elegance Edition will fit right in.—Scott Blazey