BMW i8 Winter testing (video)

The BMW i8 is caught on video cold weather testing

We have video of the BMW i8 winter testing in deep snow, in what looks to be a a much closer to production i8.

The BMW i8 has been floating around for nearly three years as BMW’s nod to an eco future for supercars. Starting with the Vision EfficientDynamics concept we saw back in 2009, BMW went on to reveal their ‘i’ Brand and reveal the  BMW i8 last summer.

With the i8 not likely to hit showrooms until late 2013 or early 2014, BMW are out doing what car makers do and testing their new cars in extreme weather, this time it’s cold weather testing and footage of the i8 frolicking with the snow ploughs.

We’ve seen shots of the BMW i8 in Mission Impossible late last year, and if you look closely at that clip you can  see the gullwing doors. The early part of this video shows those same gullwing doors, so it looks like they are going to make the cut in the final production car.

What won’t make the cut from the Vision ED is the diesel hybrid powertrain, with the i8 getting a petrol 1.5 litre 3-cylinder turbo with 220bhp driving the back wheels, and a 129bhp electric motor sending power to the front wheels. BMW say that will give the i8 a 0-60mph in the mid 4 seconds and over 100mpg with emissions of 66g/km.

It all sounds a bit too good to be true in the real world, but the BMW i8 is looking promising. Even if it’s likely to cost in the region of £150k.

(25 photos – click any thumbnail for full gallery)

By Cars UK