In pictures: Groundbreaking hybrid sportscar BMW i8

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  The BMW i8 starts at Dh635,000. For that, you get a veritable science laboratory on wheels. Dig a bit deeper and you’ll be able to specify laser headlamps (they’re extraordinary by the way) and all manner of extra kit.

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  For the price of a nicely spec’d 6 Series Gran Coupe, you could have something truly unique sat on your drive – and that’s because BMW has made the i8, as well as its diminutive i3 city car, attainable through a more modern approach to building with carbon fibre.

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  It’s touted as a supercar and the basics are certainly there. It has a twin-turbocharged engine that’s mounted in the middle, right behind the occupants.

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  The BMW i8 will reach 100kph from a standstill in just 4.4 seconds.

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  The i8 has pitifully little in the way of luggage space and, while it does come with two rear seats, you’d need to be a small child to comfortably fit in them.

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  The i8 has the same basic unit that Mini fits in the new Cooper (no, not the S), which means it is a 1.5L, three-cylinder job.

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  There are the details that you might normally miss at first glance, like the relatively skinny tyres, the lack of any visible exhaust pipes and the fact that when you start it there’s no blare of intoxicatingly obnoxious revs – it’s completely silent and remains so as you start to move. Then, too, consider that it’s entirely capable of returning fuel economy to the tune of 2.1L per 100 kilometres and, if you only ever use it for shortish commuting to and from the office (no more than 37km per day), your tank of fuel could last a lifetime.

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  The i8’s hybrid power train is easily the most impressive that I’ve yet seen. In essence, the tiny engine is supplemented by two electric motors – one up front and the other at the rear – which come on stream as and when the car’s on-board computers decide that it needs them and dependent on what driving mode that you personally select. For instance, you can choose for everything to work in tandem at the same time for ultimate performance or you could simply pootle about in all-electric mode.

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  It’s the way that the i8 shifts between these different power sources that’s impressive. There’s nothing agricultural about it, nothing jarring or uncouth; rather it seamlessly gets on with it, maximising either efficiency or performance dependent on its driver’s inputs.

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  The i8’s carbon-fibre-and-aluminium construction makes it incredibly safe, with inherent structural stiffness more normally associated with F1 cars and airplanes, as well as light. All up, including all that battery technology and fluids, this BMW tips the scales at 1,485 kilograms, which makes it lighter than a 911 Turbo.

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  Getting into the i8 isn’t a particularly glamorous affair. With the doors swung up (do allow plenty of room for this, as they need 552 millimetres of space to open outward and upwards, meaning that you could end up in a spot of bother in one of this region’s ridiculously tight parking spots), you enter posterior first. Once your derrière is in place, you bring your legs up and over the wide sills, and you should be good to go. It takes a couple of tries to perfect it, but it’s the only way to do it, without being a ­contortionist.

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  Despite all the visual drama surrounding the i8, starting it and moving it couldn’t be less exciting. But the silent electric propulsion soon gives way to a pleasing rush as the air passes over the cabin and, unusually, you can hear every single clunk of the suspension, brakes and all the rest, which are normally drowned out by combustion engines.

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  The BMW i8 it’s almost there and I don’t doubt for a second that its maker is intently listening, already planning for its next generation, which could, if this is anything to go by, completely rewrite the sports-car rule book.

The National takes a closer look at BMW's newest groundbreaking hybrid car, the i8. Courtesy of BMW