German luxury carmaker BMW is planning to launch the production version of its i8 hybrid sports car in 2014.
BMW said that the i8 will be powered by a 1.5litre 3-cylinder engine which will deliver 223 hp and 295lb-ft of torque to the rear wheels while an electric drive motor will deliver an additional 170 hp to the front wheels for a total drivetrain output of about 393hp and 406lb-ft of torque.
The engine is mated to a four-speed transmission system which will assist the new hybrid to accelerate from 0-62 in 4.9 seconds while can achieve a top speed of 156mph.
When fully charged, the coupe can cover about 20 miles in near-silent zero-emission mode while can be fully charged in six hours.
The German carmaker anticipates selling 10,000 units of i8 hybrid per year with a starting price of about $130,000 (€100,000).
