BMW i8 to go on display at Dubai show

BMW Group Middle East together with local importer AGMC will showcase the revolutionary BMW i8 hybrid sports car for the first time at this year’s Dubai International Motor Show. Taking centre stage for the duration of the show from November 5 to 9, the BMW i8’s intelligent lightweight construction (carbon) and dynamic performance allows it to accelerate like a sports car and yet consume less fuel than a compact hatch while emitting zero emissions in city driving, a company statement said. The all-new BMW i8 is scheduled for a Middle East launch in the second quarter of 2014 and will be joined on stage at its media reveal by Henrik Wenders, head of BMW i8 Product Management who will highlight the significance of the radical new technology that’s being introduced through BMW’s new i sub brand. Powered by the latest generation BMW TwinPower Turbo petrol engine which, in typical BMW sports car fashion, drives through the rear wheels, the i8’s intelligent plug-in hybrid system also capitalises on a potent electric motor which sends drive to the front wheels resulting is a combined power output of 362hp delivered to all four wheels. When united, the dual motors (electric motor at the front and petrol engine at the rear) work together to allow the BMW i8 to accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in 4.4 seconds while using only 2.5 litres of petrol per 100kms and emitting just 59g/km of emissions. Along with the headlining i8, BMW will also display the first 7 Series ever to wear the high performance M badge with 760 M V12 Bi-Turbo as well as the next chapter in the Sports Activity Coupé story, the X4 Concept and the all-new 4 Series Coupé. Made exclusively for the Middle East, the high performance executive 760Li M V12 Bi-Turbo saloon features bespoke paint and interior trim features including “V12” stitching on the headrests as well as a Bang & Olufsen High End Surround Sound System and a state-of-the-art rear seat entertainment system with iDrive control. With almost a third of all BMWs sold worldwide being an X model, the X4 Concept is another interpretation of the X family which pioneered an entirely new segment in the automotive landscape following the arrival of the X6 Sports Activity Coupé in 2008. Source: TradeArabia