BMW winner of 12th Internet Award from AutoScout24. Accolade for the BMW i8 and Editorial Award for the BMW Laserlight.

Munich. The Internet Auto Award from the online portal AutoScout24, Europe’s most significant public choice award in the automotive sector, goes to the BMW i8. The innovative sportscar recieved the most votes in the electric vehicle category, which also included plug-in hybrid models.  In the same class, third place went to the BMW i3, the first high-volume all-electric vehicle from BMW featuring a passenger compartment made of carbon fibre reinforced plastic (CFRP) and a comprehensive range of innovative driver assistant systems and mobility services. Editors of the AutoScout24 magazine bestowed the Editorial Award in the category technology on the BMW Laserlight, which was featured on a series production vehicle for the first time with the delivery of a BMW i8 on 5 June 2014.

Users vote an entirely new vehicle concept into first place.

With the BMW i8, users honoured a vehicle that has never before existed in worldwide automotive series production. The BMW i8 with BMW eDrive is the first plug-in hybrid sports car to combine a 1.5-litre TwinPower Turbo three-cylinder petrol engine with an electric motor. Power output is 266 kW/362 hp. With this combination, the BMW i8 has a range of up to 37 kilometres in all-electric and locally emission-free operation (combined fuel consumption: 2.1–0.0 l/100 km; combined CO2 emissions: 49–0 g/km). Morover, the BMW i8 convinces with an everyday fuel consumption that is around 50 percent lower than that of conventional sports cars and which has never previously been witnessed in the sports car segment. The batteries for the electric motor can be charged during the journey or from a domestic power socket. As in the case of all BMW i8 models, the use of CFRP with high torsional stiffness contributes towards the low vehicle weight. As a result, the BMW i8 sprints from 0-100 km/h in just 4.4 seconds.

With its upward-opening doors, the BMW i8 presents itself in an entirely new and exciting sports car design. It is characterised by a number of aerodynamic refinements and innovative materials. At the front of the 2+2 seater car, the bonnet is embraced by slightly raised wheel arches, forming together with the virtually closed kidney grille an extremely flat frontal view. Together with the sloping roofline and a converging design at the C pillar, the precise swage line underscores an entirely new, aerodynamic and sporty exterior design.            

BMW Laserlight – outstanding luminous range, high efficiency.

The new BMW i8 is also the world’s first series production vehicle for which BMW Laserlight technology is offered. The optional Laser Boost feature ensures a high beam range of up to 600 metres. This is approximately double the luminous range of modern full-LED headlamps. BMW Laserlight surpasses energy efficiency compared with already highly effective LED light technology by a further 30 percent, whilst bringing about a saving in headlamp installation space and weight. The outstanding illumination range of the BMW Laserlight facilitates even better visibility and enhanced foresight when driving in the dark. The result is a relaxed and comfortable ride and increased road safety. In conjunction with the camera-based, digital high beam assistance, dazzling of oncoming traffic or vehicles ahead is reliably ruled out.

BMW Laserlight technology is a development that will be available for series-produced vehicles within the near future. The first BMW i8 models featuring the BMW Laserlight were already handed over to their new owners at the BMW Welt on 5 June 2014.

191,363 online users have decided.

From 4 March to 30 April 2014, AutoScout24 called on online users to choose their favourites from five categories. This year, the Internet Auto Award was organised for the 12th time. A request to vote was made, inter alia, on the AutoScout24 online websites of Belgium, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland and Spain. 

The public was able to choose from a total of 70 vehicles, with 191,363 online users participating in the vote. For first place in the electric and plug-in hybrid catelgory, the BMW i8 was presented with the “Carolina”, a trophy designed exclusively for the Internet Auto Award. The Editorial Award for technology is bestowed by the editors of the magazine, which goes to 1.2 million newsletter subscribers per issue.