What's the news?

This is the first public outing for the full production version of BMW's i8 plug-in hybrid supercar. Gone are some (but thankfully not all) of the show-car tinsel that we have previously seen on the i8, and here is the one you can actually go out and buy later this year.

Exterior

Well, rather sadly, the fully glazed doors have gone, but the i8 keeps its dramatic, low-slung shape and those doors do at least have one dramatic trick in store - they open up and out like a cross between a Lamborghini's and a McLaren's.

The rest of the i8 sticks closely to the look of the original concept car, keeping the 'folded paper' sharp edges, the ultra-slim rear lights and the close-to-pure-teardrop aerodynamic shape. It's clearly a BMW, but it's also clearly a stunning new species of BMW.

Mechanicals

The powertrain consists of a turbocharged three-cylinder BMW TwinPower Turbo petrol engine and BMW eDrive technology in the form of an electric drive system likewise developed by the BMW Group, both of which interact via 'intelligent energy management'. The 1.5-litre petrol engine develops 231hp and drives the rear wheels of the BMW i8, while the 131hp electric motor sends its power to the front wheels and allows an all-electric range of up to 21 miles and a top speed of 75mph.

The carbon-fibre chassis of the i8 has kept its weight down to 1,400kg (which sounds heavy but isn't bad for a car carrying hybrid batteries and motors). It has the same limited top speed of 155mph as all high-performance BMWs and it has a claimed combined range on a fully charged battery and a full fuel tank of 310 miles.

Anything else?

The i8 may well be the centrepiece of the BMW stand, but there's an awful lot more to explore. There's the i3 city car, which uses much of the same carbon and electric tech as the i8, the X5 plug-in hybrid concept, which cuts the raises SUV's fuel economy to 74mpg, and a BMW the likes of which we have never seen before: the Concept Activity Tourer - a front-wheel drive compact MPV. Wonders will never cease...