When the production BMW i8 Plug-in Hybrid was presented at the IAA 2013, onlookers were surprised at how little its design had altered from the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept car shown four years earlier.

Now, tuning specialists, German Special Customs (GSC) from Chemnitz have set about giving the most technically advanced sports car of our times a visual makeover for an even more purposeful and masculine appearance.

As the BMW twin grilles on this Plug-in Hybrid are merely symbolic, they set the stage for the imitation air intakes on the bespoke GSC front spoiler. Made from carbon-fibre to match the rest of the car, this aggressive new ‘face’ weighs just 2.8 kg and gives the i8 significantly enhanced overtaking presence. Integrated side skirts continue the carbon-fibre tuning fest, while the roof and roof spars receive a glossy carbon-fibre finish.

Project partner, handWERK-folien, then wrapped the sleek bodywork in matt grey foil with light blue accents, while the wheel arches are filled by 8.0x22 and 9.0x22-inch two-piece COR International rims, painted metallic cool blue. Together with H&R sport springs that lower the ride height, these larger wheels and tyres give the GSC i8 its more menacing stance and improved handling.

To complement the its futuristic exterior, German Special Customs had their craftsmen re-trim the i8’s equally avant-garde cabin in blue and black leather and Alcantara with carbon-fibre trim inserts.