Photo: Stefan Baldauf/SB-Medien
Ever since BMW took the wraps off the i8, every enthusiast asked the same question. When will the open-top model make its grand debut? As we look forward to a possible debut at the 2017 Los Angeles Auto Show in December, Bimmerpost forum member “JasH” has plenty of spoilers to share. And boy, they’re interesting!
The owner of an i8, i3, as well as exotica from Ferrari and Lotus, “JasH” was invited by BMW at a private event in London to see the i8 Roadster in the flesh. He had already seen the newcomer in Munich months back, but on this occasion, the forum member decided to get us hyped up with lots of info.
First and foremost, the production-ready i8 Roadster was exhibited, wearing a bronze paint as seen on the i Vision Future Interaction Concept from CES 2016. “It is stunningly beautiful with the top down,” he says, but with the top up, it’s “compromised by having to share the longer wheelbase of the coupe.”
In comparison to the fixed-head model, the i8 Roadster doesn’t have rear seats, thus making room for additional storage space. As confirmed by the prototypes spied by the carparazzi, the roof is fabric and curiously enough, the up-and-down mechanism was broken on the exhibited vehicle. On the upside, “the seats are a huge improvement,” offering superior comfort.
Updates were made to the instrument cluster and iDrive infotainment system. For a change, the head-up display now shows the gear the 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine is in and the rev gauge. Opening the doors is an occasion in its own right thanks to “i8” being projected onto the road.
No figures were given for the plug-in hybrid system, but “JasH” can confirm “the ICE has the same power output, but the electric motor has more power.” The BMW officials at the event argue that the electric motor is an all-new design, though the forum member suspects the hike in output is “simply a function of the higher battery power density.” Oh, and apparently, more range is also in the pipeline from the i8 Roadster and the soon-to-be-revealed i8 LCI.
Given these circumstances, look forward to more get-up-and-go from the hybrid synchronous electric motor, which develops 131 horsepower (96 kW) and 250 Nm (184 lb-ft) of torque in the outgoing i8. As for the 7.1 kWh lithium-ion battery with a usable capacity of 5.2 kWh, the fixed-head coupe offers up to 37 kilometers of all-electric driving as per the New European Driving Cycle. Under the EPA’s way of testing, make that 15 miles.
First and foremost, the production-ready i8 Roadster was exhibited, wearing a bronze paint as seen on the i Vision Future Interaction Concept from CES 2016. “It is stunningly beautiful with the top down,” he says, but with the top up, it’s “compromised by having to share the longer wheelbase of the coupe.”
In comparison to the fixed-head model, the i8 Roadster doesn’t have rear seats, thus making room for additional storage space. As confirmed by the prototypes spied by the carparazzi, the roof is fabric and curiously enough, the up-and-down mechanism was broken on the exhibited vehicle. On the upside, “the seats are a huge improvement,” offering superior comfort.
Updates were made to the instrument cluster and iDrive infotainment system. For a change, the head-up display now shows the gear the 1.5-liter three-cylinder turbocharged engine is in and the rev gauge. Opening the doors is an occasion in its own right thanks to “i8” being projected onto the road.
No figures were given for the plug-in hybrid system, but “JasH” can confirm “the ICE has the same power output, but the electric motor has more power.” The BMW officials at the event argue that the electric motor is an all-new design, though the forum member suspects the hike in output is “simply a function of the higher battery power density.” Oh, and apparently, more range is also in the pipeline from the i8 Roadster and the soon-to-be-revealed i8 LCI.
Given these circumstances, look forward to more get-up-and-go from the hybrid synchronous electric motor, which develops 131 horsepower (96 kW) and 250 Nm (184 lb-ft) of torque in the outgoing i8. As for the 7.1 kWh lithium-ion battery with a usable capacity of 5.2 kWh, the fixed-head coupe offers up to 37 kilometers of all-electric driving as per the New European Driving Cycle. Under the EPA’s way of testing, make that 15 miles.
Google News