Production BMW i8 finally unveiled

The wraps have come off BMW’s car of the future. Paul Horrell reports

The Frankfurt show sees the unveil of the BMW i8. Like that other endlessly teased petrolelectric supercars, the Porsche 918, we've seen concepts, driven prototypes, and now get the real thing. It's coming in April, at about £95,000. And it's claimed to have on-road performance to match an M3 or base 911.

Far more than the 918, BMW has been marvellously free-thinking with the design. The i8 is a sports car with all-new drivetrain tech, and a new kind of carbon-and-aluminium shell, and advanced aero. So the design doesn't hide it under conventional sports-car tropes. It's proudly new.

BMW design chief Adrian van Hooydonk says the two-colour scheme emphasises the light weight and shows off the way the air flows. The body uses layered panels, which guide slices of air across the wheels, over the tail and through the radiators. He's chuffed they managed to do all that without needing a moving spoiler. "The brand is about efficiency, so we avoided that mechanism."

Among the most striking elements are the curled wings over the upper rear 3/4 part of the car. The cockpit beneath has a narrow teardrop shape, says van Hooydonk, to reduce drag. But a narrow car would look puny, he explains, so the wings add visual width without spoiling the aero. "It would be cheaper to leave them off, but without them you'd have an odd-looking vehicle."

The interior's also strikingly different from mainline BMWs. It runs glass-cockpit all-screen instruments and very thin, light seats to emphasise the featherweight engineering that's needed to keep the weight under 1500kg despite the battery.

The i8 actually began as a true concept car with no plan for production. Six years ago at this same show, BMW wanted to show it was thinking of a electric vehicle, but wanted to get away from the dullard image these things had (maybe still have). So it made the Vision EfficientDynamics, a pretty pure design exercise. "Although we did put it in the wind tunnel, which we'd never done for a concept before," says van Hooydonk.

The idea was to show off BMW's ideas on making bodies from carbonfibre, and its battery and motor tech, and to get the i brand known. It was all designed to build the hype for the i3. But then they gradually realised it was actually a viable idea to build the sports car too.

And so was born the i8. It uses the same carbon manufacturing process as the i3, and the same kind of battery and electronics, and the i3's motor. About six months after the i3 was given the sign-off for production, BMW decided to develop and launch the i8 too.

Of course the i8 isn't quite like the i3. Phew. There's no all-electric version. All i8s have a petrol engine, a highly boosted 1.5-litre three-cylinder of 230bhp. The electric motor is at the front, chipping in another 130bhp. So you get BMW that's basically FWD in electric mode, and 4WD in full-beans mode.

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BMW 2014 Alpina D3 Bi-Turbo

The Alpina D3 Bi - Turbo sedan can accelerate from 0-100 km / h in just 4.6 seconds , and has fuel consumption average of 5.3 liters / 100 km .
Alpina had planned to introduce the D3 Bi - Turbo at the Frankfurt Motor Show in 2013 , with both the sedan and wagon .
Alpina D3 Bi - Turbo was developed on the basis of the BMW 3 - Series version equipped with Twin - Turbo diesel 3.0 - liter flat six-cylinder , like the XD3 and D5 , which means the car will be capacity of 350 horsepower , 700 Nm of torque .
This is the first time a diesel six-cylinder flat Alpina upgrades used on its predecessor, the new D3 Bi - Turbo is the D3 was introduced in 2005 , the car is equipped with four-cylinder engine and is the best -selling vehicle in the history of Alpina , with a total of 2,000 vehicles sold .
The engine on the Alpina D3 Bi - Turbo standard EU6 emissions , with fuel consumption average of 5.3 ltr per 100 km and emissions are respectively 139 g / km . The car can accelerate from 0-100 km / h in just 4.6 seconds , maximum speed can reach 278 km / h .
The Alpina D3 Bi - Turbo sedan capable of accelerating faster than the BMW M135i , the minicar 's BMW takes 4.9 seconds to accelerate from 0-100 km / h , and maximum speed is limited to 250 km / h .
Cars Alpina D3 Bi - Turbo will have both the sedan and wagon , the rear-wheel- drive system standards . Customers also have the option of four-wheel drive systems on the sports car equipped with the diesel engine .
Alpina D3 Bi - Turbo made ​​a difference compared to the BMW 3 - Series in a series of design changes , including the new aerodynamic kit , a set of sport wheels with a diameter of 19 inch bearing design features of Alpina . Customers also have the option of wheels 20 inches in diameter .
Currently Alpina has not announced the price of the new D3 Bi - Turbo . The car will be introduced at the Frankfurt Motor Show 2013 , which takes place next week .

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BMW i3: four new official videos tell us all about it

One of the most talked-about cars of the summer is definitely the new BMW i3, the first all-electric production car from the German carmaker which is set to open a new era for the much-revered brand. The little i3 is now being exposed in these four new official videos (see the other three after the jump) released by BMW that basically tell us all there is to know about it, and they are indeed pretty interesting.

The BMW i3 features a large number of technological innovations such as a carbon-fibre passenger cell and a chassis made of aluminium, and sets new standards in the field of lightweight construction. With a curb weight of 1,195 kilogrammes, it is lighter than most vehicles in the compact segment, and yet it offers significantly more space for up to four occupants.

The low weight contributes to the agility and dynamic performance of the BMW i3: the car’selectric drive-train generates output an of 170 horsepower and a peak torque of 250 Nm, which is immediately available from a standing start. The BMW i3 can go from 0 to 60 km/h (37.5 mph) in 3.7 seconds and from 0 to 100 km/h (62 mph) in 7.2 seconds, while top speed is limited at 150 km/h (93 mph). The vehicle achieves a range of 130 to 160 kilometres (80 to 100 miles) but can be provided with an optional range-extender (a two-cylinder petrol engine producing 34 hp) to reach up to 300 km (186 miles) of full autonomy.

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BMW M4 Concept

On August 15th, surrounded by both current and historic BMW models, the BMW Concept M4 Coupe made its debut at the iconic annual Pebble Beach/Monterey automobile weekend. This concept is actually meant to anticipate the next-generation of two-door M performance car, and once it will eventually hit production - and we beleive it won’t be too different from that one - it will actually be the real successor of the mighty M3.

As for now, BMW did not say anything about powertrains - although we would expect to see a rabid V6 under that bonnet - but nonetheless we can appreciate the wicked aesthetics that the German designers have come up with. The BMW Concept M4 Coupe, finished in the colour “Aurum Dust” exclusively developed for this model, basically continues with BMW M’s recent design language, with several CFRP (carbon fiber reinforced plastics) elements such as the front splitter, the roof and the rear diffuser that underline the optimized lightweight concept down to the smallest detail.

Looking at the M4 Concept from every perspective in this first bunch of official pictures, it seems to us this car is the embodiment of agility, dynamism and performance. Large air inlets at the front, a swift design language in the side and a sporty, low rear give claer visual indication of the car’s potential, so we just cannto wait to see it iin its definitive production form.

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