BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition is so cool it's Frozen

Fri, 15 Aug 2014

The new, one-of-a-kind BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition made a ritzy debut last night at BMW's private villa, giving the media its first chance to look at the ultra-exclusive hybrid.

As we said in our previous post, the most notable feature of the Concours d'Elegance i8 is its matte grey paint, known as Frozen Grey Metallic in BMW parlance. This isn't the first time we've seen this shade on an exclusive BMW, as it was last used for the Frozen Grey M3 from 2010.

Contrasting quite nicely with the i8's flat paint are its blue and white accents, and its Dalbergia Brown leather upholstery. Blue contrast stitching complements the interior aesthetic, as do the embossed BMW roundels in the headrests.

Provided Uncle Sam signs off on it, the i8 Concours d'Elegance will also be the first vehicle in the US to feature laser headlights. It will also include a complimentary set of Louis Vuitton baggage and a "professional edition" charging station.

The exclusive model will cross the auction block at Gooding & Company's auction on Saturday evening, where it will likely command a hefty sum, with proceeds going to the Pebble Beach Company Foundation and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. Take a look up top for our live gallery of images from the i8's debut last night, and then scroll down for the press release and original gallery from the car's announcement last week.

One-of-a-Kind BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition to be Auctioned During Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Weekend
BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition to be sold at Pebble Beach Auctions presented by Gooding & Company on Saturday, August 16 at approximately 8:30pm PDT

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – August 14, 2014... In celebration of the US arrival of the BMW i8, the world's most innovative sports car, a one-of-a-kind 2014 BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition will be auctioned during the weekend of the 2014 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, ahead of the official fall sale date. The i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition will be distinguished by a unique paint scheme and interior treatment as well as other features that will make it unlike any other BMW i8 in the world. The BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition will be sold by Gooding & Company, the official auction house of the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance, during the annual Pebble Beach Auctions at Pebble Beach on Saturday, August 16. Proceeds of the sale will go to the Pebble Beach Company Foundation and the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.

The 2014 BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition will feature BMW Individual Frozen Grey Metallic exterior paint. The unique interior will boast Dalbergia Brown leather upholstery, which is tanned using dye derived from plant extracts. The upholstery is accented with stitching in BMW i Blue. The Pure Impulse Tera World interior includes other trim accents in BMW i Blue, including the seat belts, as well as having "BMW i8" embossed into the front headrests. A number of US firsts will be included with this special edition including laser headlights, pending government approval, a BMW i8 Display key as well as the first BMW Charging Station, professional edition.

Other touches will further mark this BMW i8 as truly one-of-a-kind. The words "Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance Edition" will be laser etched into the door sills and a plaque on the rear parcel shelf contains the signatures of senior BMW executives who played key roles in the development of the i8, including:
Ian Robertson – BMW Group Board Member – BMW Sales and Marketing
Herbert Diess – BMW Group Board Member – Development
Adrian von Hooydonk – Head of Design – BMW Group
Benoit Jacob – Head of Design – BMW i
Ulrich Kranz– Head of BMW i
Carsten Breitfeld – Project Manager – BMW i8
The car will be sold at the Pebble Beach Auctions presented by Gooding & Company on Saturday, August 16 at the Pebble Beach Special Events area. It is schedule to cross the auction block at approximately 8:45pm PDT. For information about bidding or to watch a live stream of the auction, please visit www.goodingco.com.

The BMW i8 is arguably the most innovative sports car on the road today. The plug-in hybrid all-wheel drive powertrain combines an electric motor to drive the front wheels and a powerful and efficient 1.5-liter BMW TwinPower Turbo three-cylinder gasoline engine driving the rear wheels. The BMW i8 is capable of driving on pure electric power at speeds up to 75 mph for approximately 20 miles, producing zero tailpipe emissions. When the gasoline engine joins forces with the electric motor, together they are capacity of propelling the i8 for 0-60 mph in 4.2 seconds and to a top speed of 155 miles per hour. Thanks in part to its passenger cell constructed out of lightweight carbon fiber reinforced plastic, The BMW i8 will deliver fuel efficiency normally associated with the stingiest subcompact. The lithium-ion battery pack that powers the electric motor can be charged from any 240-volt level 2 charging station as well as a conventional 110-volt outlet.

The BMW i8 is the world's first series-produced vehicle to be made available with innovative laser headlights as an option. These generate a pure-white, extremely bright light that is pleasant to the eye by carefully converting the beams emitted by tiny laser diodes using a fluorescent phosphorous material inside the headlight. The laser diodes are ten times smaller than conventional light-emitting diodes, helping to save space in the headlight unit and also to reduce weight. The BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition will be the first car in the US to have this technology, pending government approval. If necessary these headlights will be retrofit subsequent to delivery. It will also be the first BMW in the US to offer an innovative display key which features an integrated LCD touch screen.

The 2014 BMW i8 Concours d'Elegance Edition will not only offer the winning bidder the chance to own one of the first BMW i8s in the US, but also to own a truly one-of-a-kind example of the world's most innovative sports car.

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group's global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 and X4 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 339 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 139 BMW motorcycle retailers, 120 MINI passenger car dealers, and 35 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

By Brandon Turkus