After the videos and details on the new BMW i3, we turn to the more exciting of the two introductions in the form of the BMW i8. We say more exciting from a purist, driver’s point of view, although we’re already quite impressed with the electric hatch that is the i3, with its power, technology and optional range extender.

Unlike the i3 however, the BMW i8 is a sports coupé which uses plug-in hybrid technology. It will have the same electric motor as the i3 up front, but the rear axle is driven by a 1.5-litre, three-cylinder turbocompressed engine with 220 hp. That makes for a front-wheel drive electric vehicle, a rear-wheel drive for sports driving or an all-wheel drive coupé for some serious traction.

That’s an impressive combination all on one car and BMW claims a 0-100 km/hr sprint of under five seconds and fuel consumption of 3 l/100 km (or seven litres when in fuel mode only). The i8 can run in electric mode only for 35 km before resorting to the hybrid system. No official weight figures have been released but BMW says the i8 has a perfect 50/50 split front to rear weight distribution. See all the videos after the jump.

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These videos, the first of many coming from BMW as it reveals its new ‘i’ range, show the future BMW i3 model. The new i3 is the citycar hatch equation of BMW’s electric project, and was first teased as the MegaCity model. It will use BMW’s new LifeDrive architecture, and should be an extremely lightweight, safe car.

The i3 uses aluminium and carbon-fibre reinforced plastic to keep weight down and has a design that uses two bench seats, front and back, for four passengers. A liquid-cooled lithium ion battry pack drives the 125kW motor with 170 hp and 250 Nm of torque - making it quite a respectful electric model. Performance includes a 0-60 run of four seconds, and a time to 100 km/hr of less than eight seconds. Top speed is limited to 150 km/hr.

We still don’t know exactly how far we’ll get with the BMW i3 range, but the company has been smart enough to equip this model with an optional range extender (REx), which uses a small combustion engine to increase the range. Other features so far include braking regeneration and different driving modes, including a PRO ECO mode for better efficiency. More after the jump.

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As BMW releases more details on its new ‘i’ sub-brand of ecological vehicles, it’s clear that when a company like this launches a new brand, it won’t be off the back of just two models. These videos (another after the jump) show more of what we can expect of the design and technology behind the new BMW i3 and BMW i8; although no additional models have been officially announced yet, we’re being lead to believe a full range will make up the ‘i’ badge.

The former was known previously as the Megacity concept and should become BMW’s premium electric citycar model in the future. The latter will be a sports coupé model - the production version of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept of 2009. Both will be built with a new LifeDrive platform and with a CFRP (Carbon Fibre Reinforced Plastic) designed to balance the added battery weight of the vehicle.

Meanwhile, the BMW i3 is expected to marketed at a premium price in a segment that includes models like the Nissan Leaf. At the other end of the spectrum, sticking to premium, will be the BMW i8 set to become a ‘halo’ car that will have a petrol engine and not diesel. Speaking to Autocar, BMW R&D chief Klaus Draeger said that “diesel is only relevant to Europe”.

We take that to mean that the i8 will be an international car for BMW, making it to other markets like the US and Asia, too. It won’t be launched until 2013 but it will straddle both brands and not be a flag-bearer just for the new ‘i’ sub-brand. It’s designed to combine both leading technology and sportiness and will be representative of that across the BMW fleet. The video after the jump shows just how much BMW is backing a cutting edge, exciting feel to this project.

Continue reading: BMW i3 and i8 videos plus extra 'i' models in the future

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Revealing its new ecological sub-brand - BMW i - the German company has also officially announced that the first vehicles to be produced under this new label will be the i3 and i8. The former will be what has already been known as the BMW Megacity all-electric citycar, and the latter will be the production version of the first BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept. It first appeared in 2009 and should be in production by 2013 as a plug-in hybrid model.

The new i sub-brand will house a series of BMW’s first forays into hybrid, range-extender and plug-in hybrid models. They will all be built on a new platform called LifeDrive which is being designed to balance the weight of the batteries while still trying to stay true to BMW’s dynamic driving tradition.

The BMW i platform is made up of an aluminium chassis and a carbonfibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP) passenger cell. The BMW i3 will be an all-electric vehicle which will borrow elements from the 1 Series ActiveE model, while the BMW i8 will be a hybrid model that could use the 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol engine and an electric motor, possibly the same as that of the i3. Pressure will be on for it to be a high performance coupé ready to excite people into the new BMW i badge.

BMW’s Leipzig plant will ready itself for production of the two vehicles with about 400 million euros in investment. The models should also prove to be fresh ground for BMW’s experimentation in on-board entertainment but although we’ll see the ConnectedDrive concept at the 2011 Geneva Motor Show, there’s no news yet as to whether we’ll see updated prototypes of the i3 and i8 at the show. See the video above for the manifesto on the new sub-brand.

BMW i

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