Meet The BMW Supercar That Thinks It's A Prius

The new BMW i8 is a hybrid powered supercar

Heard the one about the hybrid supercar? It's not a new phenomenon - we've already seen two 900 horsepower creations that run on both petrol and electric, the LaFerrari and McLaren P1 - but if you can't afford their million pound price tags, BMW has a more attainable answer.

The i8 has been teased for a couple of years now, but it has finally been seen in production form. Needless to say, it's a bit less sexy than the concept, with smaller wheels and more sensible headlights, but it keeps the dihedral doors. You'll find them on the McLaren 12C, too, and like any door that goes up rather than out, they're cool. End of argument.

i8's trick door reveals a more sensible interior

Powering the i8 is a mixture of an electric motor and a diddy 1.5-litre engine with just three cylinders. It gets a nice big turbo, though, so the i8's 357bhp total isn't too shabby (even if it is less than half a LaFerrari). Top speed is 155mph and it'll hit 60mph in around 4.5 seconds. And being a hybrid, BMW reckons it can average an utterly nuts 113mpg. CT's Yaris Hybrid scrapes 80mpg...

BMW's last proper supercar - the M1 ProCar

But should we really be talking about fuel economy when BMW's first supercar since the 70s has shown its face? After all, its last effort was pretty damn special. The M1 is not only one of the sexiest supercars ever, but in 477bhp ProCar racing form, perhaps the best sounding. We're betting a three-cylinder hybrid setup can't compete with the noise in the video below...

Video

The BMW i8 will cost around £100,000 when it goes on sale in 2014. The same sort of money gets you a Porsche 911 GT3 or Audi R8 V10. Handling, speed or a little love for the environment - which German supercar would get your cash?