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BMW i8 Roadster First Edition Begins Rolling Out of Leipzig

The second model of the i8 range, the Roadster, is one significant step closer to hitting the road, as BMW announced Friday the first 18 units have rolled off the assembly lines at the Leipzig plant.
BMW i8 Roadster production version unveiled at BMW Welt 137 photos
Photo: BMW
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These 18 cars are the first in a batch of 200 that would constitute a limited run called First Edition. Setting these versions apart from all the others to be manufactured are an exclusive interior plaque on the driver’s side of the center console, special interior options, dry-carbon interior trim and a Harman Kardon hi-fi speaker system.

The first of the 200 cars has been handed over on Thursday to the BMW i8 Club during a ceremony at the carmaker's Welt location in Germany. The i8 Club was established in 2014, on the heels of the original i8 launch.

With not that much competition in its segment, the i8 has become in four years the world’s top-selling hybrid sportscar, prompting the Germans to do a follow-up with an open-top incarnation.

The Roadster was presented at this year's Geneva Motor Show, heralding at the same time an upgrade for the regular i8. Both models in the range are now powered by an updated battery, with a cell capacity of 34 Ah, up from the current 20 Ah.

The improved electric drive of the i8, comprised of the battery and an AC synchronous electric motor, will give the model in electric mode 144 horsepower.

The combined output of the system, including the 1.5-liter turbo engine, is 369 hp, while zero to sixty mph acceleration for the model stands at 4.2 seconds.

The Roadster is being manufactured at the Leipzig facility alongside the coupe, the  i3 and i3s. Some of the parts used in its assembly will 3D-printed starting in 2019.

In the United States, the new i8 Roadster will be sold from later this year for $163,300, nearly $16,000 above the price of the Coupe version.
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About the author: Daniel Patrascu
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Daniel loves writing (or so he claims), and he uses this skill to offer readers a "behind the scenes" look at the automotive industry. He also enjoys talking about space exploration and robots, because in his view the only way forward for humanity is away from this planet, in metal bodies.
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