BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition to be auctioned in California

BMW has announced that it will launch a special edition of its first plug in hybrid i8. The edition is christened as Concours d’Elegance Edition which will be auctioned at the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. This one-off BMW i8 Concours d’Elegance Edition features unique color scheme and custom made interior treatment. The Concours d’Elegance Edition will be sold by Gooding & Company- the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. The auction is scheduled to take place on August 16, 2014 at the annual Pebble Beach Auctions at Pebble Beach, Monterey County, California in United States.

The 2014 BMW i8 Concours d’Elegance Edition will feature BMW Individual Frozen Grey Metallic paint scheme, laser headlights (pending government approval), a BMW i8 Display key along with the first BMW Charging Station, professional edition. While the interior gets elegant bespoke custom made stitching. The headrests are embossed with “BMW i8” while the “Concours d’Elegance Edition” i8 will be laser etched in the interior. The cabin also sports Dalbergia Brown leather upholstery tanned by using a special dye made from plant extracts. Further to give it a more elegant and custom made feeling, the seats are stitched in with BMW i Blue technology.

Mechanically, the car is powered by 1.5-liter, 3-cylinder turbocharged gasoline (petrol) engine which powers the rear wheel. The petrol engine develops a power of 231bhp and 320Nm of torque, which is added with an electric motor producing power ouptut of 131bhp and peak torque of 250Nm, which makes the final output as 357bhp. The gasoline motor transfers its power to the front wheels, while the electric motor powers the rear wheels. The car is capable of achieving an acceleration of 0 to 100kmph in less than 4.5 seconds while returning an impressive mileage of 40kmpl.