Spy Shots: BMW's i8 Hybrid Coupe Shows its Revised Hofmeister kink.

We were hoping that by the end of this year, BMW engineers would have peeled off most of the camouflage covering their i8 coupe prototypes, but as you can see, that's not going to happen – unless, of course, Munich surprises us over the next couple of weeks.

What we do get from these fresh spy shots of the i8 that was captured once again during cold weather testing in Europe is a less obstructed view of the car's upper profile as the company's people removed some of the swirly wraps covering the side windows.

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BMW Already Testing 1-Series Compact Models with its New Three-cylinder 1.5-liter Engines

As we were looking for pictures the other day for our story on the availability of the BMW Group's new 1.5-liter TwinPower Turbo engines in the United States and Canada, we discovered images of a prototype of the 1-Series five-door hatchback fitted with this powerplant on the company's website.

To date, while BMW has set the market introduction of the 1.5-liter TwinPower Turbo engine in diesel and petrol forms for 2013, it has only confirmed the i8 sports coupe and the i3 supermini gasoline-electric hybrids as the recipients of the three-cylinder units.

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BMW Group to Add New 1.5-liter Turbocharged 3-Cylinder Engine to U.S. Lineup

Downsizing is the road taken by most automakers in their effort to meet new fuel consumption and emission standards, and three-cylinders with forced induction are the new trend.

Ford will offer a 122HP 1.0-liter three-cylinder EcoBoost engine in the Mondeo mid-size family car and BMW has already revealed a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine that is part of the new TwinPower “family”.

On the sidelines of the Paris Auto Show, BMW sales and marketing boss Ian Robertson told reporters that the new 1.5-liter engine, which was displayed on the Active Hybrid Concept, “behaves like a six-cylinder, is half-of a six-cylinder and has the noise of a six-cylinder”.

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Scoop: New BMW i8 Hybrid Sports Coupe Affords us our first View of its Interior

Whichever way you look at it, the upcoming i8 coupe is no doubt the most innovative BMW sports car of recent times, and all for good reason as the Bavarian automaker is making every effort to impress, from the plug-in hybrid powertrain to the extensive use of lightweight materials throughout.

As BMW intensifies testing across Europe, our spies are getting closer to the prototypes and this time, they were able to take a couple of shots of the interior.

While the exterior styling of the production model is modeled after the second concept version of the i8 with changes to certain details like the door handles, headlamps and bumpers (the taillights are not real on this model), the interior is completely different.

Unless the German brand has fitted the test car with a fake interior, the styling of the dashboard is in line with other BMW products replacing the i8 Concept's futuristic looking digital instrument panel with a conventional four-gauge layout and obtaining a large center console tilted towards the driver.

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BMW Rep Says Toyota's Sports Car will Have a Unique Design, Insider Hints at 6-Series-Based Supra

The recent deal signed between the BMW Group and Toyota Motor Corp that includes the joint development of platform architecture and components for a future sports car, has spurred speculation and rumors about the type of model that could come out of the partnership.

The Japanese company's president Akio Toyoda opened up a bag of clues during his speech in Germany by saying that he is "looking forward to a sports car that is environment-friendly and truly excites car fans around the world."

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BMW Says i8 Plug-in Hybrid Coupe to Cost 'More than €100,000'

We're still a good two years away from the market launch of the most anticipated model of BMW's new i sub-brand, the i8 Coupe, but the Bavarian automaker has already outlined a pricing strategy for the plug-in hybrid.

Speaking to reporters at the grand opening of the i sub-brand’s first sales outlet worldwide on London’s Park Lane, BMW global sales chief Ian Robertson said that the hybrid sports car will sell for "more than €100,000 (about US$125,400 or £80,600)" - apparently in Europe, according to a report from Bloomberg News.

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BMW Opens its First Dedicated i Store Worldwide in London

The introduction of the new "i" sub-brand for BMW's upcoming pure electric, plug-in hybrid and other alternative fuel vehicles was only the beginning as the Bavarian carmaker is taking the project to a whole new level with the opening of the first dedicated i Store worldwide in London's Park Lane. Read more »

BMW's New 1.5-liter Three-Cylinder Petrol Engine for i8 to be Built in Britain

During the SMMT 2012 International Automotive Summit in London on Tuesday, the BMW Group announced that its brand new 3-cylinder petrol engines for the upcoming i8 plug-in hybrid sports coupe will be produced exclusively at the firm's UK engine plant at Hams Hall, near Birmingham. Read more »

BMW Debuts i8 Spyder and Announces "eDrive" Designation for "i" EVs and Hybrids in Beijing

The open-top, two-seater version of the innovative BMW i8 plug-in hybrid made its world premiere today at the China Auto Show in Beijing. At this point, the i8 Concept Spyder is just a concept, but a production version is most probably in the works.

Despite being slightly shorter and losing two seats compared to the i8 Coupe, the Spyder mirrors its closed-roof sibling in its design, lightweight carbonfiber construction and plug-in hybrid powertrain.

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Life-Size Replica of the BMW i8 Concept Made out of Lego Blocks

The BMW Group and LEGO, the famous interlocking brick brand from Denmark, are no strangers as the two companies have cooperated many times in the past.

Once again, BMW was one of the main sponsors of this year's LEGO Kids Fest that took place at the automaker's home town of Munich from April 12 to 15.

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Watch the New BMW i8 Spyder Concept in Action

We've already had the chance to see the first images of BMW's i8 Spyder concept in advance of its world premiere at the Beijing Auto Show, where it will be presented alongside the new local market 3-Series LWB model, but if you'd like to watch the study on the move, we've just added three new videos that you can check out right past the break.

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BMW i8 Spyder Concept Shows the Way for a Production Model [45 Photos]

While we have yet to see a production model, BMW's newly formed "i" sub-brand continues to expand its range of concept cars with a third study for a roadster version of the i8 Coupe.

Given the close relationship with the coupe model, it's very likely that the i8 Spyder will receive the green light for production as well with a possible market launch to follow within the next two to three years. The i8 Spyder will make its world premiere at the Auto China Show 2012 in Beijing in late April.

While it shares its basic platform architecture and plug-in hybrid powertrain with the coupe, the Spyder is a strictly two seater model and has a slightly shorter wheelbase and overall length.

Other changes include the solid doors, which keep the 'butterfly' design swiveling upwards, the new colors and materials inside, and the redesigned rear-end that now features a transparent engine cover.

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BMW i8 Spyder Concept Photos Leaked Ahead of Beijing Auto Show Debut

A Czech website has dropped the first photos of BMW's new i8 Spyder Concept. And since some of you may be wondering if they're real or not, we asked around and can confirm their authenticity as sources told us that the study will make its world premiere at the Auto China Show in Beijing at the end of April.

The open-top study is based on the production-intent i8 Coupe Concept that we've seen in several shows this past year.

Aside from the absence of the roof and the elimination of the rear seats, the Spyder also sports solid instead of transparent, rotating doors with different mirror housings and a restyled boot section.

The Spyder retains the i8 coupe's plug-in hybrid powertrain with a mid/rear mounted 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder gasoline engine developing 220HP (164kW) and 300 Nm (221 lb.ft) connected to the rear wheels, and an electric motor driving the front wheels.

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SCOOP: New Photos Reveal Production BMW i8 Hybrid Sports Coupe's Scissor Doors

Up until now, we weren't sure if BMW would keep the supercar-like scissor doors seen on the original Vision EfficientDynamics concept and the evolved i8 study on the production model as the company's engineers avoided opening up the car in front of our scoop photographers.

However, being the diligent spy shooters that they are, they managed to snag the first pictures of the final production prototype with the passenger-side door wide open, and as you can see from the pictures, the i8 will indeed keep the concept's swiveling doors fixed to the A-pillars.

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SCOOP: BMW i8 Hybrid Sports Coupe Poses on Film for us

BMW aims to establish itself as a manufacturer of premium green vehicles through its new "i" sub-brand starting with the i3 hatchback in pure EV and extended-range EV flavors in 2013 and shortly after the i8 hybrid sports car, which is obviously the more interesting proposal of the two.

Following up on the spy pictures of the camouflaged production version of the i8 that we showed earlier in the week, our scoopsters also snagged a video of the test car quietly (perhaps too quietly for a BMW coupe) running around on the snow which you can watch after the break.

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Spy Shots: New BMW i8 Coupe Wears its Production Outfit for Testing

The last time we showed you a prototype of the BMW i8 hybrid sports car it was in May of 2011 with a scoop video of the car undergoing cold-weather testing. Now, our spy photographers captured another prototype of the i8 being driven on the snow.

So what's new about this test car? Well, a lot actually, as whereas the previous prototype was based on BMW's second concept for an i8, the car featured here is the final production version.

The design of the i8 has progressed with BMW moving the exterior mirrors from the window to the corner of the doors and refining other details such as the door handles, headlamps, bumpers and even the alloy wheel designs.

But while the Bavarians have made some necessary changes, the overall shape of the car along with the aerodynamic details like the rear wings and air channels in front of the rear wheel arches remain unchanged. We still don't know if the production model will keep the concept's butterfly-style doors.

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