BMW i8 / Vision EfficientDynamics spied undisguised [video]

Inching closer to production

On a recent trip to Abu Dhabi, Teamspeed member Captain Stradale stumbled upon a BMW photo shoot for the Vision EfficientDynamics / i8 / i100.

While the pictures were taken at a distance, you can see the car is a more production-ready version of the VED concept that debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Most of the extreme styling carries over, but there's a revised hood and modified doors.

As we have previously reported, the VED features a 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbodiesel engine and two electric motors that produce 262 kW (356 hp) and 800 Nm (590 lb-ft) of torque. Thanks to the plug-in hybrid setup, the car can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 4.8 seconds, hit a top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph), and return 3.76 L/100 km (63 mpg US).

This particular vehicle is likely another concept, but the production model is slated to be launched in 2013 with a base price of approximately £150,000 ($231,985 / €173,725).

Click the TeamSpeed.com source link below to see more pictures.

Source: Teamspeed

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wbizarre

Once again BMW is about to move automotive design a decade forward.

December 31, 2010 6:59 am

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6 replies

joseferreira

Design, technology and innovation. Really interested seeing this new Mega City Vehicles and i-Projects

December 31, 2010 7:11 am

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burana800

And when did the first time happen?

December 31, 2010 7:38 am

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FOXHOUND

@burana800 LOL i was just wondering the same thing...

December 31, 2010 10:17 am

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wbizarre

@burana and foxhound, I was referring to the Bangle design direction. I know many people hate it, but it broke the dreadful monotony of the luxury market, and it was an incredibly bold move that paid off in the long run.

December 31, 2010 1:36 pm

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sensei

The Bangle design was panned and rightly so. No other manufacturer (other than Toyota with the Marx X) follows the Bangle Butt.

January 2, 2011 7:19 am

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TheAlchemist

ya, what? once again? BMW will now be 20 years ahead of the game?...HA!

January 2, 2011 9:46 am

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wcfuser14435

all new design, best economy and most beutifuul car i have ever seen.

December 31, 2010 7:53 am

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Arto-7

I feel like I'm about to live through a revolution. I can see it now, me going like "Son, back in my day, you had to fuel up weekly, not yearly; and as hard as it is to believe, electric motors were never heard of, we used to be fueled by gasoline, not electricity"

December 31, 2010 8:00 am

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1 reply

BMWfan4Ever

LOL So true!

January 4, 2011 8:48 am

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GTurbo

Sometimes we take autocar genius for granted as we see technology evolve almost before our very eyes on a daily basis. However, BMW is taking us into stratosphere here with this car and it's almost familiar with us as 'secret' is a thing of the past in the age of the Information Super Highway. Hence we are practically immuned to the shock-factor of seeing a brand new auto concept when 'leaks' are so commonplace! Great engineering skill and design language for the next decade.

December 31, 2010 8:35 am

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eddie

BMW is always at the edge of new innovation.

December 31, 2010 9:13 am

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SeakIT99

You like that design??? xDD It looks like a toy car

December 31, 2010 9:14 am

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1 reply

surubutna

It will be for sure a nice toy to play with :D

December 31, 2010 9:40 am

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Sita

this is the spy shot? it rather looks like professional panning picture for official brochure. I'm confused, if this is it, good work guys But car looks identical to concept, including an interior which is also doubtful for a production car

December 31, 2010 11:00 am

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2 replies

hekki

This is a Concept car to a real model(i8), it is BMW habit to make a Concept car before a real deal. And you are right that this is a photo shoot to a brochure.

December 31, 2010 11:42 am

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BMWfan4Ever

@ Sita lol who cares it looks beatiful the way it is..

January 4, 2011 8:49 am

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v6s_stink

I can't see any innovation, but only a marketing tool aimed at the gullible. Electricity is not a clean energy source. It's production requires either using coal, petroleum, and uranium, or killing a river and much of the life that relies on its free flow. Most places in the USA don't want anything to do with a power plant in their vicinity. There is not an abundance of electricity in most markets just waiting to be used by masses of people plugging in their cars. This technology uses this kind of power, with a heck of lot of added weight and toxic chemicals. Then when you use up your plug in charge, you have a three cylinder turbo diesel. And it is ugly.

December 31, 2010 11:07 am

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5 replies

wcfuser14369

Well voiced. This car reminds me of the fable about the emporer's new clothes. Not convinced it's the future. Just a different way of doing the present.

December 31, 2010 12:33 pm

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BavarianMS

You seem to know more than the engineers who are making this thing. ~sarcasm~

December 31, 2010 2:31 pm

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KeyboardWarrior

Do you live in a third world country in Africa or something? Have you not heard of solar and hydro power that countries are currently using? It sound like you are a jealous person. I mean, what else do you expect car manufacturers to do with tightening emission standards? still use a V10 like the Audi R8??? This car uses a 1.5l diesel and match the performance of a V10 from the R8. And no, this car is not ugly. If you think this is ugly, then you have bad taste. The R8 is ugly compared to this beauty.

January 1, 2011 1:22 am

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Petrolhead1991

v6s_stink you are absolutly correct! Just look at the Tesla, it was designed for performance and to be eco friendlyness but how many have actually you seen "whizzing" down the road?(probably none, unless you live in Beverly Hills and see a celebritys zooming around in them). Tesla's were purly made for publicity. KeyboardWarrior you should check your facts because the "acclaimed" 0-100 acceleration speed of the Audi R8 V10 is 3.7 sec and a top speed of over 325kph which is a HELL of a lot faster! This is also OLD technology compared to Audi who have been developing the E-tron and the R4 months ago. Whats more... are the side panels made of glass? How safe would you feel if you were driving at 250kph in a glass box? hmmmm?

January 3, 2011 10:08 am

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FOXHOUND

@v6s_stink, youre absolutely right there's nothing really innovative about this car, the technology isn't revolutionary and new, and its environmental impact talking production phase wise is far greater than any gas or diesel car could ever come close to, and the stlying is not really new either, if it had the same body with a different badge, all these bmw fanboys would be bashing it, and yes this car is ugly, and if im wrong then im glad that im not right, if this is the future of car design then it makes me sad that we will have to drive abominations that look like this

January 4, 2011 9:11 am

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BrianWCF

Video added to article.

December 31, 2010 11:45 am

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1 reply

AUDINICK

Brian please be on our side!

December 31, 2010 9:25 pm

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eddie

Many of the new electrical plants will be natural gas which is a cleaner source of fossil fuels. There must be bridges used until fuel cells etc are widely available. Hybrid cars are the same thing a bridge until something comes along more cost effective. We had to understand planes before building a rocket to the moon!

December 31, 2010 12:52 pm

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v6s_stink

I do believe that natural gas holds a lot of hope for the future. There is a 100 year supply (according to a study by MIT) under one national forest for the USA's generation and transportation needs. There is concern about fracking chemicals interacting with groundwater. This seems to be a fairly easy to surmount issue, relative to the range of complexity of energy and mining issues. It seems like a wasteful process to use natural gas to run cars by using it to run combustion power plant turbines. There appears to be much less loss to just power a combustion engine in the car. The technology already exists and it works safely and very well, go Honda.

January 2, 2011 8:52 am

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EMBJATI85

dieselhybrid nice

December 31, 2010 11:07 pm

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Douglas6250

Wow seems like they are keeping the design elements of the VED and applying directly on this. I just can't imagine how people would react when they see this car on the streets !! This would keep those ecologist or Chevy Volt drivers' mouth shut !!

January 1, 2011 7:24 am

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SZQ

so are they gonna speed the video up so it looks like it's travelling down the straight at 300km/h...rofl

January 2, 2011 3:36 am

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BMWfan4Ever

Lets Hope they will actually start making these in the near future... Would love to own one... :P

January 4, 2011 8:47 am

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DdW

I will say that BMW is creating and producing a car ahead of time. Look at the production cars of today, their design language could not be as futuristic as BMW. I am looking forward to see how the final fruition of this "green" supercar.

January 5, 2011 9:08 am

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zeiar

@v6s_stink. I'm pretty sure the 1,5l diesel engine is not connected to the wheels at all, its just charging the batteries when the charge is about to run out. So its never going to be driven by 1,5l diesel - just with electric motors.

January 6, 2011 6:11 pm

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BMW i8 / Vision EfficientDynamics spied undisguised [video]

Inching closer to production

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