During BMW's annual accounts press conference, CEO Harald Krüger let it slip that the Bavarian carmaker will finally introduce an open-top version of the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car.
Set to be named the BMW i8 Roadster, the new model will be launched all the way in 2018, not even a couple of years before the i8 draws its last breaths and is (probably) replaced by a new generation. 2018 is also the year when the already confirmed X7 full-size SUV will go on sale.
The statement followed more news about a new version of the i3 electric compact, which will be unveiled later in 2016, apparently.
“We are further expanding the BMW family. An additional i3 model will be offered from the second half of this year on: Its battery capacity has increased by 50 percent. And we have also revised the design. In 2018, we will launch an emotional brand shaper based on the i8 – the BMW i8 Roadster,” Harald Krüger told the media and BMW's shareholders at the conference.
There aren't that many details available about the Roadster version of the i8, but BMW did show a prototype named the “i8 Concept Spyder” back in 2012. It is believed that the production version of that concept will bear little resemblance to it, though, especially since the name has been changed from “Spyder” to “Roadster.”
Powered by a turbocharged three-cylinder and an electric motor, the standard BMW i8 is being marketed as a hybrid alternative with a BMW badge to the Porsche 911, but the Roadster might lose the two rear seats along with the hard top roof, thus making it an even more niche model.
The new BMW i3 version will apparently get a new battery, with a capacity that's 50 percent larger, and a redesigned exterior shape. Some voices call it the “i3 +,” and it is not yet known if it will also receive a range-extender version like its smaller brother.
The statement followed more news about a new version of the i3 electric compact, which will be unveiled later in 2016, apparently.
“We are further expanding the BMW family. An additional i3 model will be offered from the second half of this year on: Its battery capacity has increased by 50 percent. And we have also revised the design. In 2018, we will launch an emotional brand shaper based on the i8 – the BMW i8 Roadster,” Harald Krüger told the media and BMW's shareholders at the conference.
There aren't that many details available about the Roadster version of the i8, but BMW did show a prototype named the “i8 Concept Spyder” back in 2012. It is believed that the production version of that concept will bear little resemblance to it, though, especially since the name has been changed from “Spyder” to “Roadster.”
Powered by a turbocharged three-cylinder and an electric motor, the standard BMW i8 is being marketed as a hybrid alternative with a BMW badge to the Porsche 911, but the Roadster might lose the two rear seats along with the hard top roof, thus making it an even more niche model.
The new BMW i3 version will apparently get a new battery, with a capacity that's 50 percent larger, and a redesigned exterior shape. Some voices call it the “i3 +,” and it is not yet known if it will also receive a range-extender version like its smaller brother.
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