Remember this thing? It showed up at the 2009 Frankfurt Auto Show looking like some kind of carbon-fiber, electric insect. It was called the BMW Vision EfficientDynamics concept and it boasted a diesel hybrid drivetrain that theoretically gave it supercar performance and low emissions.

It looked like so much hope and fantasy at the time, but now BMW says it has built a road going version that signals its intent to near ahead with its production. Although the company called it a "serial production car" don't get your hopes up just yet. It's still calling this car a study, so what you see here may not be what BMW delivers down the road.

Still, it's a big lump of technology stuffed into a pretty interesting design. There's a three-cylinder diesel engine and a two electric motors that combine for a total of 328 horsepower. BMW says it's good for a 0-to-60 mph sprint of 4.8 seconds.

Given its position as a "study" this car probably won't arrive in true production for another two or three years. By then BMW should have all the bugs worked with the drive system and could deliver one of the first truly capable "green" sportscars from a major manufacturer.