Well! Mission Impossible 4 has Tom Cruise, Eminem rap, the Mission Impossible theme, hot women and the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept as an i8 preview. And that’s a lot to pack into just the trailer. Confirming that we will see the new BMW i8 in the Mission Impossible fourth instalment is this video, although it still looks very much in concept phase to us (the car, not the film). BMW has plans to produce the i8 based on its Vision concept, with limited modifications so the film could just be an early advertising opportunity for the German car marker. Oh, and there’s also the new BMW 6 Series cabriolet which gets destroyed.

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With these kinds of “teasers” continuing, it could be a long road before we get to see the final production version of the BMW i8. Not that BMW says this is the purpose of the video, but the road taken is to introduce BMW innovation and technology to the masses, probably to pave the way for the media exposure the new ‘i’ brand will require.

In this preview video we see the BMW Vision EfficientDyanmics touted as an innovative but ecological vehicle, with all the power of a sports coupé. As to the i8, no powertrain details are available yet, and the vehicle as a media tool, still lives in the twilight zone of show cars and their sexy design.

Still, BMW has decided to dedicate what we take to be an introductory video to its i8 model. All we know so far is that the BMW i8 will be the halo car of the new ‘i’ brand and will be a high performance hybrid vehicle. From there, BMW will have more introductions and publicity to do.

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The BMW Vision EfficientDynamics is proving its futuristic appeal in the latest Mission Impossible movie - the fourth in the saga. Could we see Tom Cruise driving the hybrid, all-wheel drive sports car (we’re assuming it’s the “good guy’s” wheels)? The product placement from BMW in the film includes a 6 Series Cabriolet and a 5 Series sedan, with the latter having modified bumpers to accommodate the installation of cameras.

The BMW Vision EfficientDynamics was presented in 2009 as a concept car, but it looks like it will make production as the new BMW i8 vehicle. Currently it has a hybrid set-up using a three-cylinder, 1.5-litre diesel engine which could possibly be replaced with a four-cylinder turbo model unit on the production model.

Source | TeamBHP

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The BMW Vision EfficientDynamics production vehicle could be called the BMW i8 according to reports from Dutch site AutoInternationaal. The concept vehicle was revealed at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show and a production model was announced not long after. The “i8″ name is designed to reflect the environmental aspects of the car and will act as a forerunner to other BMW vehicles to follow in the footsteps of this ecological coupé.

Future models will therefore be named with the ‘i’ letter and a number, with these reports indicating that we could see a new ecological sports range appear alongside BMW’s traditional line-up. We still don’t expect to see the BMW Megacity vehicle in that line-up as it should carry its own badge. The BMW i8 should appear in 2013 after its rivals, the Audi R8 e-Tron and the Mercedes SLS AMG E-Cell.

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Here’s the video of the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics test mule as this exciting model gets confirmed for production. The original concept was presented at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show to much acclaim and, depending on how exclusive BMW will go with this model and its price tag, there’s been enough interest to generate a production model and hopes for some sales. So far pricing is expected to be hefty but perhaps not excessively so given the technological investment in this model - somewhere betwen 140,000 and 150,000 euros.

The Vision EfficientDynamics model will most likely still be a hybrid-diesel coupé in the “plug-in” category. The concept model was equipped with a 1.5-litre, three cylinder diesel engine and two rear electric motors which all combined to produce a total of 328 hp. Acceleration is claimed at 4.8 seconds for 100 km/hr and fuel consumption is just 3.8 l/100 km. The Vision EfficientDynamics is another of those cars walking the fine line between performance coupé and environmental vehicle.

With brake regeneration and lithium polymer batteries, the vehicle can go all electric for a range of about 50 km. The cost will obviously be prohibitive for many and production numbers haven’t been released, so there’s no knowing if this will be a limited run or treated more as a special edition.

We assume some of the concept bits will be left behind meaning we’re not sure if we’ll see all the cool stuff like the wing doors, but then this was a prototype. Currently BMW is running some tests for journalists of this road-going version which is said to include plenty production-ready components. Check it out in the video above.

Continue reading: BMW Vision EfficientDynamics test model video

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At the 2010 Geneva Motor Show BMW presented the new 5 Series, the 5 Series ActiveHybrid concept, and the ActiveE electric concept based on the 1 Series coupe. The BMW catch cry for this year is “Efficient Dynamics“, a project which was first launched at Geneva three years ago. For a better idea of why BMW is so focussed on what may seem a boring concept, check out the BMW physics lesson video after the jump, which takes a jab at Audi via an upstart youngster who knows how to draw the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car.

BMW is more than serious, though, about the technology from that concept car that it intends to adopt across the range. The entire range of BMW vehicles has a calculated average of fuel consumption for each vehicle of just 5.9 l/100 km. The ActiveE will soon start road tests, while the Megacity concept development will get underway.

In addition to the environmental focus, on display at the show is the X5 restyling, the 3 Series coupe and cabriolet restyling, the 2010 X6 range and the Z4 SDrive 35is. There was also the 135i with Valvetronic Twinpower Turbo N55 with dual-clutch technology, which is a technical novelty for the BMW M5 now available with Start-Stop, a Competition Package and rear LED lights. We’ll be bringing you more details and pics of the new BMW 5 Series, X5 and the other models from the show, but see these live pics from Geneva to see if BMW is staying exciting while focussing on its technology.

BMW 5 Series live pics from Geneva motor show

Continue reading: BMW live pics from Geneva and Efficient Dynamics physics lesson video

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The BMW Vision EfficientDynamics prototype will get to production, although it may have a different name when it does get rolled out (thank God, right?). The BMW Vision EfficientDynamics was a very impressive 2+2 hybrid concept that first debuted at the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show in September last year.

There was already talk about whether this very sleek car would ever see production, and nbow the response from BMW is a probable ‘yes’. No time frame has been established yet, although apparently we could be looking at a limited run of between 5,000 and 10,000 units. We originally guessed that BMW would use different components from the Vision concept car on various models in its range, but the possibility of seeing a dedicated model is quite exciting. We get the feeling it may have a head start on the Audi E-Tron in terms of image and style, and if both go into production we could see an all-out war in hybrid coupe models.

While the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics originally had a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbodiesel engine combined with two electric motors, some of the essentials may change. The engine combo, producing 163 hp may stay the same, but according to a BMW insider, less synthetic glass and more solid structure will appear in the final design, making the chassis and style of the car slightly different.

Source | InsideLine via 4wheelsnews

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Here’s a closer look at the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept at the Frankfurt Motor Show. Apart from our impression that there’s a lot of blue involved, it’s a very intriguing model and we’ll be curious to see in the future how BMW might go about putting this into production.

It’s far more likely that BMW will incorporate the various technological innovations of the Vision concept on different models in its range, but we think there could still be space for one version that includes all the innovations. At it’s simplest, the Vision concept is a plug-in hybrid sports car with BMW sports performance, but minimal emissions and fuel consumption.

Top speed is 250 km/hr, acceleration time is 4.8 seconds to reach 100 km/hr and fuel consumption is just 3.76 litres per 100 km/hr with 99 grams per kilometre of CO2 emissions. The engine is a three-cylinder, 1.5-litre turbodiesel with 163 hp, which is a new development for BMW. Two electric motors are included, one for each wheel axis and they can work either independently or with the endothermic engine. Using them independently obviously results in a zero emissions car.

BMW Vision EfficientDynamics Concept

Continue reading: BMW Vision EfficientDynamics live pics from Frankfurt

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