BMW USA has announced the full pricing breakdown of the brand’s most anticipated new model, the i8 sports car. The company previously announced a base price of $135,700 (£79,000; €99,000). Destination and Handling is an additional $950 (£550; €695), for a grand total of $136,650 (£80,000; €100,000).

The blue roundel will offer the i8 in three “worlds,” which are trim levels above the base model. Similar to i3 lines, the names of these packages are “Giga World,” “Tera World,” and “Pure Impulse World.” If BMW believes it is being cool by being strange, BMW is mistaken.

The worlds each include a headlight upgrade to BMW’s cornering, LED units, and primarily alter trim. Whether selecting the base model or one of these packages, customers can select 20” W spoke wheels or 20” turbine wheels at no cost. The cheapest trim is the $2000 (£1165; €1465) Giga World. It offers a perforated leather interior in white or black.

The next level up is the $3000 (£1750; €2200) Tera World. It features blue seatbelts and offers a brown leather and cloth interior.

Finally, for the grandest experience possible, there is the $10,800 (£6290; €7900) Pure Impulse World. What do you get for that $7800 (£4545; €5710) premium? The same blue seatbelts, a spice gray leather interior, and an anthracite headliner. That’s right – BMW is charging almost $8000 (£4660; €5860) for essentially an anthracite roof. That is the craziest thing about this pricing strategy (besides the names, of course). Fitted with Pure Impulse World, a white i8 can reach its price ceiling of $149,250 (£86,970; €109,290).

The only standalone option is to have the car with Crystal White Pearl Metallic paint, which costs $1800 (£1050; €1320). All other paint choices (a whopping three – silver, gray, blue) are no-cost options. The i8 also features a tremendous amount of standard equipment. Heated, electric seats; auto dimming mirrors; Park Distance Control; ambient lighting; Active Driving Assistant; a Harmon/Kardon stereo; a concierge service; and the full suite of BMW apps. All of these are standard, which means that for some, spending the base $136,650 (£80,000; €100,000) will be enough.

The BMW i8 may be a complex plug-in hybrid, but it is also a Porsche 911 Carrera 4S competitor. Though the 911 starts at $105,630 (£61,550; €77,350), the as-tested price can spin out of control when fitted with all of the i8’s standard equipment. With the i8, BMW has taken the technology to outer space while bringing prices back to Earth.

It’s not cheap. But it’s also not priced like a Porsche.

There’s no denying the BMW i8 is an impressive technical achievement, not necessarily because it has all the tech that it has, but especially because it seamlessly integrates it into an otherwise usual driving experience.

It's almost a sports car, though it isn’t really, being more of a technological halo model for BMW, a rolling billboard for they can do and will be doing in the future.

UK Autocar’s Steve Sutcliffe recently had a go in the i8, and while he drew similar conclusions to the others that have already driven it (not quite sharp enough to be a sports car, but still good fun to thread around a moderately twisty road). He does, however, explain that he personally likes it and gets what it’s about – you’d be missing the point if you only looked at it as a sports car…

It’s not perfect and BMW may be lying about turning a profit with it, as Sutcliffe suggests, but with its combination of looks, power, efficiency, decent handling and badge kudos, it really is hard not to at least be a bit curious as to what it’s like (and refrain from secretly wanting one).

Review Praises BMW i8 for Being Good Value, Calls it a Mini-LaFerrari

Also sending a Tron vibe

WCF reader Yasid has returned with another project, this time a Blade Runner-themed BMW i8.

Last time Yasid sent us something it was a render of a Nissan Vision Gran Turismo GT2020 and now he video documented his digital interpretation of a BMW i8 featuring a Blade Runner theme combined with a Tron look. Lasting almost 60 minutes, the interesting video kicks off with a standard i8 which goes through a series of changes suitable to star in a potential Blade Runner 2 movie.

A sequel to the original movie released in 1982 could happen as Harrison Ford has been asked to return for a new movie which will once again be directed by Ridley Scott and written by Hampton Fancher. If there will be a sequel, it will probably be based on the original novel titled "Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?" released in 1968 by Phillip K. **** rather than on the three sequel novels published by K.W. Jeter which were poorly received.

The first BMW i8 in the U.S. has been delivered to its new owner.

Among the first group of individuals receiving their BMW i8 in Monterey, California this weekend are Roger Penske, Rick Hendrick, Tony Fadell (founder and CEO of Nest), Michael *** (CEO of Comfort Revolution), John Hendricks (Discovery Communications, Curiosity Project founder), Barry Klarberg (founder and CEO of Monarch Business and Wealth Management), Miles Nadal (founder and CEO of MDC Partners), Sam Nazarian (founder and CEO of SBE) and Patrick Wachsberger (co-chairman of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group).

All those receiving their BMW i8s this week are also invited to a special private dinner hosted by Chef Keller, who has set the standard within the hospitality industry with restaurants including Per Se in New York and French Laundry in Nappa Valley.

In addition, a one-off BMW i8 Concours d’Elegance Edition will be auctioned off during this weekend’s festivities at Pebble Beach.

“Today marks an exciting day for BMW of North America, as we take another step towards furthering sustainable mobility with the BMW i8, the plug-in hybrid sports car made with carbon fiber,” said Ludwig Willisch, President & CEO, BMW of North America. “We are proud to see the i8, the second of BMW i’s visionary vehicles, enter the market.”

Maybe it was Jay Leno's presence driving the bid up, but someone paid six times the retail price for a new BMW i8 this weekend.

The car was sold Saturday night during during Gooding & Company’s annual Pebble Beach Auctions, presented by both Leno and BMW North America CEO Ludwig Willisch. It fetched $825,000, up substantially from the $135,700 sticker price of an i8. BMW says it's a record price for an i8 sold at auction, although how many i8s have actually been auctioned off yet, anyway?

The very expensive i8 is a one-off from the BMW Individual collection, painted in Frozen Gray paint with brown leather interior and a set of matching Louis Vuitton carbon fiber luggage.

Also at Pebble Beach this weekend, BMW delivered a few of the first i8s to customers at a private event. Those customers include racing chief Roger Penske and auto dealer Rick Hendrick, as well as a bunch of CEOs and tech people.

For everyone else, the i8 goes on sale this fall at BMW dealerships, but expect a wait for one.

Shot a hole-in-one on a par 3

Professional golfer James Heath scored a hole-in-one at the BMW International Open and was rewarded with a brand-new i8.

While Heath has been struggling on the European Tour, he managed to shoot a hole-in-one on the 16th hole which is a par 3 with a distance of 156 meters (511.8 feet).

According to a clearly excited Heath, “I am blown away. I’m virtually speechless. The BMW i8 is a stunning car and worth 137.000 Euros. It more than triples the highest cheque I’ve ever made."

BMW has been hosting the International Open for 26 years but this is only the fifth time a golfer has received a car for a hole-in-one. Previous winners took home a 640i Gran Coupe, 535i sedan, a 325i convertible and a Z8.

The BMW i8 may be an environmentally-friendly hybrid, but in essence it remains a sports car, despite the fact that it has a completely different powertrain than conventional performance cars.

In the last episode of Ignition, Jonny Lieberman found out just how competent the BMW i8 is as a sports car and was quite surprised with the results. Although it lacks the drama of a conventional sports car like the Jaguar F-Type R, the BMW i8 managed to impress in terms of raw performance.

For example, the BMW i8 was faster round the “Figure 8” handling track than the Alfa Romeo 4C or Dodge Challenger SRT Hellcat, proving it has what it takes to take on more powerful conventional sports cars.

Furthermore, the reviewer says the i8 proves that BMW i has become the truly innovative branch of the Bavarian firm, taking over from the M division that is not that innovative anymore.

Watch the video below to learn the arguments that support this statement.

The BMW i8 is a sleek and sexy hybrid. The Tesla Model S is an all-electric powerhouse. What happens when these two titans are matched head-to-head?

Did anyone ask if the BMW i8 could beat a 2015 Corvette Stingray in a straight-line duel? Probably not, but now that we mention it, right…

The answer comes from TFL Car that took BMW's new plug-in hybrid sports car and drag raced it against a 2015 Corvette Stingray Convertible.

GM's model has a 6.2-liter naturally aspirated V8 with 455hp and 460 lb-ft of torque (624 Nm), while the BMW relies on a complex hybrid powertrain pairing a 229hp 1.5-liter turbocharged 3-cylinder petrol lump to a 129hp electric motor for a combined output of 357hp (362PS) and 420 lb-ft (569Nm).

In standard configuration, the i8 weighs 1,567kg / 3,455 lbs and the Corvette Stingray Convertible, 1,529kg / 3,362 lbs.

Before you hit play (skip to the 2 minute mark for the race), do note that the test took place at an altitude of about a mile about sea level, which means that, while the petrol engines in both models suffered a power loss, the BMW's electric motor did not.

And oh, if you're wondering how the i8 competes against the Porsche 911, check out this video.