According to a report by Autocar, BMW's upcoming i8 supercar will not come as a diesel-electric hybrid, as has been the case with the Vision EifficientDynamics concept and prototype upon which the i8 is based.
The recently announced 'i' sub-brand from BMW will launch the i8 supercar in 2013 but it will come with a petrol engine instead.
As BMW's head of research and development, Klaus Draeger, told Autocar, "We want to sell [the i8] all over the world. Diesel is only really relevant to Europe."
Draeger wouldn't say which petrol engine would be fitted to the i8 but whatever it is, it's hard to imagine it matching the efficiency and power of the three-cylinder turbo-diesel from the initial VED concept car. That 1.5 liter power plant churned out 163 PS (120 kW / 161 bhp) and 290 Nm of torque (214 lb-ft). Coupled with the electric motor, total output on the Vision EfficientDynamics was 328 PS (241 kW / 323 bhp) with a consumption rating of 3.76 liters/100 km (62.5 mpg US) and CO2 emissions of 99 g/km.
BMW may be able to match the 4.8 seconds sprint time (0 to 100 km/h or 62 mph) of the diesel-powered i8 but will it meet those consumption figures with a 700 km (434 mile) range on a 24 liter tank to boot?
Let's hope.
