BMWi
Forum for the entire range of BMW electric vehicles
| 02-11-2016, 04:48 PM | #1 |
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BMW i8 Special Editions Coming. Protonic Red Edition Up First
 BIMMERPOST NEWSBMW i8 Special Editions Coming. Protonic Red Edition Up First Comfortably exceeding expectations: BMW i8 is the world’s highest-selling hybrid sports car. Exclusive BMW i8 special editions. Protonic Red Edition gets the ball rolling at the Geneva Motor Show. February 11, 2016 Last year, global sales of the BMW i8 exceeded the combined figure of all other hybrid sports cars produced by other manufacturers*; 5,456 units of the i8, which is powered by the combination of a three-cylinder turbocharged engine and an electric drive system, were sold worldwide in 2015. The car’s innovative plug-in hybrid technology delivers system output of 266 kW/362 hp (fuel consumption combined: 2.1 l/100 km [134.5 mpg imp]; CO2 emissions combined: 49 g/km)**. “The success of the BMW i8 speaks for itself,” said Ian Robertson, BMW AG Board Member for Sales and Marketing. “It is already the world’s most successful hybrid sports car and has comfortably exceeded our own expectations. I can think of no better illustration of the relevance of our young BMW i brand.” And the BMW i8 is about to add further lustre to its appeal with exclusive special-edition models poised to be unveiled for the first time at the Geneva Motor Show. The new arrivals present customers with even more ways to own a very individual car. BMW i8 Protonic Red Edition will be built in Leipzig from July. The first in this line of special-edition models is the BMW i8 Protonic Red Edition. Like those set to follow in its tyre tracks, it is only available for a limited period. This take on the 2+2-seater with carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) passenger cell and efficient BMW eDrive drive system technology will be produced at BMW Plant Leipzig from July; it sports a Protonic Red paint finish with accents in Frozen Grey metallic. The colour scheme is complemented by BMW W-spoke 470 light-alloy wheels painted in Orbit Grey metallic with hubs painted in Aluminium matt and mixed-size tyres (front: 215/45 R20, rear: 245/40 R20). Inside the inaugural special-edition i8, red double-stitching and applications in high-grade carbon fibre and ceramic provide indications of its exceptional sporting character. Largest market presence of any premium supplier worldwide. Since entering the market in late 2013, BMW i has concentrated exclusively on vehicles designed from the outset for locally emission-free driving. In 2015, sales of the BMW i3 and BMW i8 were around 66% up on the previous year with a total of 29,513 deliveries. BMW i currently offers the BMW i3 in a total of 36 countries. This, together with its portfolio of trailblazing and highly convenient services, gives BMW i the largest worldwide market presence of any electric vehicle manufacturer. In its launch phase, the BMW i brand and its BMW i3 and BMW i8 models garnered more awards and accolades than any other brand in automotive history. Among the distinctions amassed by the BMW i8 are an International Engine of the Year award for both its TwinPower Turbo three-cylinder engine and overall hybrid drivetrain. The BMW i8 was also voted World Green Car of the Year and Green Luxury Car. And it received the Paul Pietsch Award presented by German motoring magazine “auto motor und sport” in recognition of the most innovative technical concept. No other vehicle has ever picked up such a large number of awards in such an array of different disciplines. * The fuel consumption figures were calculated based on the ECE test cycle, dependent on tyre format. |
| 02-11-2016, 05:57 PM | #4 | |
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Red and electric.... not the best colour choice.... While Audi with R8 and Merc with GT/ s sell tons of cars, BMW is trying again a stupid route... This car should be the hybrid version of an M8... There are some product planners there with really limited vision... |
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| 02-11-2016, 06:19 PM | #6 | ||
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| 02-11-2016, 06:54 PM | #7 | |
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Drives: 2014 F15 X5 xDrive35i
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Porsche 918 Mclaren P1 |
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| 02-12-2016, 11:55 AM | #9 | |
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My General observation is that the demand for luxury sports cars, in recent years, may not be as robust as manufactures would lead us to perceive. Therefore, it is hard to deduce where future demand for ICEs (M Division) versus Hybrids (i Division) will be. One thing is for certain, if manufactures such as Porsche, BMW, McLaren, and Ferrari are producing hybrid sport cars, the congruence in their vision should be indicative of where sports car manufacturing is heading (I left out Mercedes because, according to my MB SA, they're still plagued with a plethora of hybrid battery issues to even contemplate the idea of incorporating this feature into sports cars, for the moment. But undoubtedly they will, as soon as they work out all of the aforementioned issues in their hybrid sedans). |
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| 02-12-2016, 03:25 PM | #10 | |
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Unless, of course, you count Porsche 918 Spyder, McLaren P1, La Ferrari. |
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| 02-12-2016, 03:30 PM | #11 | |
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| 02-16-2016, 07:08 AM | #12 | |
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It's an awesome DD but I wish that BMW has been released a more track focused version based on this concept. i8' sales in Germany are awful compared with its traditional rivals  There were also two miserable sport electric tentative before: R8 e- tron and SLS electric... I think that the market is not prepared for these cars yet.. or their performances must be improved substantially... |
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| 02-16-2016, 10:16 AM | #13 | |
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(a) What are "traditional rivals"? 911? R8? The i8 is not meant to outsell them by volume. It's a technology pioneer. It's a CFRP shell. They could never make as many as Audi is cranking out aluminum space frames. So, looking at sales numbers is a little unfair. (b) The e-tron and the SLS electric aren't hybrids, they're full electrics. This comes with an entirely different driving experience (esp. range anxiety) and may indeed have been harder to swallow for the market back in 2014. The world has moved on. And, incidentally, the R8 e-tron is being relaunched. (c) The i8 goes from 0 to 100 km/h in four seconds, give or take, depending on who's test data you believe. Why is that not fast enough? The pace of the car has surprised pretty much every tester who's report I've read, and I have so far run away from everything I've encountered on the Autobahn in Germany. (d) If you just compare performance figures to old school sports cars, you're not getting what the i8 is all about. It's not trying to be faster than everything out there. It's trying to be very fast and economical at the same time. And it does that brilliantly in a package that's very attractive to sit in. |
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