From the autumn of 2014, BMW will be the first manufacturer worldwide to offer a production vehicle equipped with headlamps featuring a completely new laser light concept. With this laser light technology, which was first presented at the 2011 Frankfurt International Motor Show, the BMW i8 is not only making automotive history as a plug-in hybrid sports car, but also as the first production vehicle to incorporate the totally new laser light technology. During the years ahead, further BMW models will be equipped with this future-oriented laser light system.

Thanks to the new laser technology, it is possible to increase energy efficiency by a further 30 percent compared to already highly power-saving LED light.

In addition to lowering power requirement, BMW Laser Light illuminates the road ahead with a significantly higher light intensity without heating up the surrounding area. Laser diodes are also ten times smaller than conventional light diodes, thus helping to save not only available installation space inside the headlamp, but also weight.

The size of the reflector surface can be reduced by a factor of up to ten versus LED light and the height of the reflector has now been reduced from the previous 90mm to less than 30mm.

The light of a laser headlamp is extremely bright, similar to daylight, which is perceived by the human eye as pleasant. Several high-performance diodes emit a strongly bundled beam via special lenses onto a fluorescent phosphorus substance inside the headlamp.

This substance transforms the beam into an exceptionally bright white light that is ten times more intensive than conventional light sources. Due to their highly intensive and virtually ideal beam properties, laser diodes render the overall system even more efficient. In conjunction with the camera-aided digital high beam assistant, dazzling of oncoming traffic or vehicles ahead is reliably eliminated.