BMW to build hybrid supercar

BMW Hybrid Supercar concept will now move to an actual production car. Electric propulsion is the future of the automobile as now every auto manufacturer in the world has one or is designing one. Hence why when IndyCar announced their new car without any hybrid element it became clear they were out of touch with the future of the automobile.

BMW, the world's largest maker of luxury autos, will build its first hybrid supercar as part of a broader effort to create more fuel-efficient vehicles and underline its technological prowess.

The Vision Efficient Dynamics model, which accelerates to 62 m.p.h. in 4.8 seconds while emitting 99 grams of carbon dioxide per kilometer, will go on sale in 2013, the Munich, Germany-based carmaker said Friday. The car will be priced below the company's Rolls-Royce models, development chief Klaus Draeger said.

CEO Norbert Reithofer is developing the hybrid supercar and the electric-powered Megacity auto to help meet tighter environmental regulations and to boost sales to 2 million vehicles by 2020 from 1.4 million this year. The new sports car, which has doors that open upwards, is powered by a three-cylinder diesel engine and two electric motors.

"It's important for BMW to communicate even small progress to cement its perceived role as a leader in hybrid and environmental technology," said Juergen Pieper, an analyst at Bankhaus Metzler in Frankfurt, who recommends buying the shares. "It would help if they're the first to sell such cars. But it's going to take a while to make them count in terms of earnings."

BMW's hybrid sports car will have a similar acceleration rate to BMW's M6 supercar, while emitting just 30% of the M6 coupe's CO2 per kilometer, according to BMW's Web site. The M6's starting price in the U.S. is $102,350.

The carmaker targets significant sales volumes for the Vision Efficient Dynamics and will make it available in all major markets as BMW aims to steal customers from competitors' models, Draeger said.

"I expect a very considerable share of conquests," he said. "We want to achieve a certain market presence with the car and so can't limit production to one car a day."

Porsche plans to produce a 918 Spyder hybrid sports car, which features carbon fiber-reinforced plastics to reduce weight and emissions, spokesman Eckhard Eibel said. The carmaker hasn't decided when the car will go on sale or what the price will be, he added.