To celebrate the United States arrival of the BMW i8, a one-of-a-kind 2014 BMW i8 Concours d’Elegance Edition will be auctioned during the weekend of the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance.
The 2014 BMW i8 Concours d’Elegance Edition will feature BMW Individual Frozen Grey Metallic exterior paint. Meanwhile, the interior will boast Dalbergia Brown leather upholstery and it is accented with stitching in BMW i Blue. The interior includes other trim accents in blue, including the seat belts, as well as having “BMW i8” embossed into the front headrests.
On top of that, the word “Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance Edition” will be laser etched into the door sills and a plaque on the rear parcel shelf contains the signatures of senior BMW executives who played key roles in the development of the i8.
The i8 powertrain will remain the same. The plug-in hybrid all-wheel drive powertrain combines an electric motor to drive the front wheels and a 1.5-litre BMW TwinPower Turbo three-cylinder petrol engine driving the rear wheels. The BMW i8 is capable of driving on pure electric power at speeds up to 120 km/h for approximately 32km, producing zero tailpipe emissions. When the petrol engine joins forces with the electric motor, together they are capacity of propelling the i8 for 0-100km/h in 4.2 seconds and to a top speed of 250km/h. Thanks in part to its passenger cell constructed out of lightweight carbon fiber reinforced plastic, The BMW i8 will deliver fuel efficiency normally associated with the stingiest subcompact. The lithium-ion battery pack that powers the electric motor can be charged from any 240-volt level 2 charging station as well as a conventional 110-volt outlet.
The BMW i8 Concours d’Elegance Edition will be the first car in the US to come up with laser headlights. These generate a pure-white, extremely bright light that is pleasant to the eye by carefully converting the beams emitted by tiny laser diodes using a fluorescent phosphorous material inside the headlight. The laser diodes are ten times smaller than conventional light-emitting diodes, helping to save space in the headlight unit and also to reduce weight.
The BMW i8 Concours d’Elegance Edition will be sold by Gooding & Company, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, during the annual Pebble Beach Auctions at Pebble Beach on Saturday, August 16. Proceeds of the sale will go to the Pebble Beach Company Foundation and the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The lucky BMW i8 Concours d’Elegance Edition buyer will also get a complete set of the Louis Vuitton luggage that is custom made for the BMW i8.
