The initial impression we get from these first two official photos of the production-ready BMW i8 - which will premiere at the Frankfurt motor show next Tuesday (September 10) is that the interior layout and trim are remarkably similar to that of current, conventional BMW products.
As sexy as BMW's first hybrid sports-car looks from the outside, any BMW enthusiast settling into the cockpit will immediately feel at home - which may be exactly what the company is trying to achieve.
DIGITAL INSTRUMENTATION
The 'i' styling cues are there, however, in the digital instrumentation and a backlit blue circle around the traditional BMW logo on the steering wheel.
The production-ready i8 faithfully echoes the styling of the original concept, first shown two years ago, although the scissor doors are no longer transparent and its fragile-looking alloy rims have been replaced by more conventional hoops.
As we already know, the i8's 1.5-litre turbopetrol triple will deliver 170kW to the rear wheels, while a 96kW/250Nm electric motor drives the front wheels, taking the low-slung coupé from 0-100km/h in 4.5 seconds and on to 250km/h, at an quoted average cost of 2.5 litres per 100km and 59g/km of CO2.
Pure-electric performance, however, will be restricted to 120km/h and 22km.