BMW has offered another official glimpse of its i8 Roadster, which will be launched alongside a facelifted version of the coupé early next year. It's also expected to make its official debut at the LA motor show later this month, as BMW has announced that the car is in its final stage of testing.
A video posted on social media (see below) previously showed the car wearing camouflage and confirms that it will retain the dihedral doors of its hard-roof sibling.
Both the Roadster and hard-top variants of BMW's plug-in hybrid Porsche 911 rival will receive aesthetic and mechanical updates, while the starting price is expected to increase slightly.
The external updates will include new headlights with a more intricate LED design, while the Roadster will swap the standard i8’s tailgate for a pair of buttresses behind the driver and passenger, adding more visual drama. These have been adapted from the look of the BMW i Vision Future Interaction concept of the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).
The Roadster's soft-top must be removed manually and stowed away. The open-top model's design is likely to make it heavier than the i8 coupé, which currently weighs 1560kg.
The new i8s are expected to get a 10% power hike from an upgraded petrol-electric hybrid powertrain, taking power up to 420bhp, about 5bhp less than the turbocharged 3.0-litre straight six that powers the BMW M3. The i8s are powered by a turbocharged 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol engine combined with a front-mounted synchronous electric motor.
Interior upgrades are expected as well, with BMW's latest iDrive infotainment system with gesture control technology likely to be adopted.
The i8 coupé currently costs from £106,310, but the facelifted model is expected to have a slight price increase. The Roadster will be priced above the coupé, so a starting price of more than £110,000 is probable.
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Car may be light but batteries are not
1560kg hefty for a 4wd with 420hp? Not really
Not especially that heavy, can't think of any 420hp 4WD cars that weigh much less than 1560kg (excluding Lotus of course)!
Porsche Cayman only has 300hp and no 4WD system but still comes in at 1350kg add 4WD and a more powerful engine and it would be pretty close to the i8
Lightweight
After two years of running my i8, I still find it the most fascinating and enjoyable car I've ever had, performance/economy are a step on from anything else, and for what it is, it very good value, even better to a second hand buyer. The only downsides for me are that it's very wide for UK B Roads, but they have to fit the batteries somewhere, and the luggage space is very compromised, but it does effectively have to accommodate two "engines", two fuel sources and all the accompanying control systems.
Worst feature by far is having to step into an awful BMW Dealership, and suffer their lacklustre "service".
the future modern motoring