Video: 2014 BMW i8

This is the second car from BMW's i sub-brand, it looks very close to the concept that you may have seen in "Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol," the movie. Well, we're gonna put it through our own protocol, which means we're gonna check it out. BMW says this is its first plugin hybrid vehicle. It's got a highly turbocharged three-cylinder engine, sends 231 horsepower, 236 pounds-feet of torque to the rear wheels through a six-speed automatic transmission, but that's not all. There's also an electric motor that sends 131 horsepower and 250 pounds-feet of torque to the front wheels. Throw it all together, BMW says the i8 hits 60 miles an hour in just about four seconds. But who cares about that? Just look at this thing, it's outrageous. It looks very much like the concept car it's based on, BMW's Vision EfficientDynamics Concept from the 2009 Frankfurt Motor Show. The doors here open upward and outward. The alloy wheels measure 20 inches. There are LED headlights and BMW says there are available laser headlights in countries that allow for it. Unfortunately, Dr. Evil, they are not attached to sharks. Lots of weight-saving measures going on here. BMW says the chassis is aluminum, the passenger cell is made out of carbon fiber-reinforced plastic, the doors are a combination of aluminum, carbon fiber, and plastic. Put it all together, overall weight for the i8 is about 3,285 pounds. BMW says that's about as much weight as a four-cylinder Toyota Camry. It's 2, 3, 400 pounds lighter than an Audi R 8 and Aston Martin V8 Vantage. Overall height for the i8 is about 51 inches, that's an inch or two taller than those other cars. Not that it matters 'cause getting in requires, well, it's a bit of a learning curve like hitting a baseball in major league, or something. Long, wide door sills here you got to step over, they're very high, reach up here to close down the doors, be careful not to bump your head on them as you're getting out. BMW calls this a 2 + 2 seater, those two are just gonna hate life back there, but very premium materials here. This stacks up like a premium car, plush leather-wrap surfaces all around you, actually reasonable room forward and backward here, and headroom is not too bad. It's just getting into and out of the car that's quite a struggle, it takes a bit of time to pick up. The i8's electric motor runs off a five kilowatt-hour lithium-ion battery, BMW says overall electric range about 22 miles, although that hasn't been certified by the EPA yet, neither has gas mileage, although BMW claims that in European driving cycles, this thing is capable of a combined mileage rating of about 90, 95 miles per gallon. So stay tuned for all of those details when the i8 goes on sale in spring 2014 for a starting price of just around $140,000. (car engine roaring)