Someone's willing to pay $16,000 for a hollow, non-working BMW i8
Tue, Aug 26 2014
See, the i8 in question is just a promotional body shell. It's fullsize and being sold (we think) by a legit BMW dealer (Laurel BMW of Westmont), so it's got strong ties to the real thing, but there's nothing inside. In fact, you can't open the doors or windows and the wheels don't move, unless you count the tiny rolling castors that are a part of the prop. There is no fancy plug-in hybrid powertrain – no powertrain of any sort, in fact – and it was "professionally crafted just for BMW dealers." The headlights do turn on, though, so that's something.
What's most impressive, though, is that there are 50 bids for this non-working BMW. In fact, the bidding has climbed up to $16,000. For a car that can't fulfill its mission as a car, that's pretty impressive. Oh, and those bids have not yet hit the reserve price, so the dealer is obviously hoping it can get more money for this hollow BMW.
The official base MSRP for a working i8 is $135,700. The first i8 delivered in the US, a special edition for Pebble Beach, just sold for $825,000.
By Sebastian Blanco
See also: Evo pits BMW M3 against Porsche Macan in drag battle, BMW 2 Series Active Tourer getting third row, Europe's BMW 1 Series hatch caught looking fresh faced.