The BMW i8 Spyder plug-in hybrid concept was revealed more than 3 years ago, so many of you have probably forgotten about it by now (or never learned about it to begin with), but those who haven’t will probably be interested to hear that the concept is now headed to production, according to recent reports.
The production confirmation for the concept is coming via BMW Chairman Harald Krüger, so appears to be completely credible — so those of you wanting one can likely get your hopes up now without issue. 🙂
Specifics as far as a release date, etc, have yet to be revealed, but the comments made by Krüger imply that the wait shouldn’t be too long.
World Car Fans provides more:
Krüger was tight-lipped on specifics told Handelsblatt the model will be introduced relatively soon. There’s no word on timing but BMW delivered the first i8s in mid-2014 so hopefully the company doesn’t intend of making us wait too much longer. It remains unclear how much the production model will have in common with the concept but the latter had a semi-transparent hood, an open top design and a rakish windscreen with an integrated spoiler. The model also had stylish rear buttresses and a shortened wheelbase.
The i8’s plug-in hybrid powertrain will likely carryover and consist of a 1.5-liter TwinPower Turbo three-cylinder engine, an electric motor and a lithium-ion battery pack. This setup enables the coupe to produce a combined maximum output of 362 PS (266 kW). In terms of performance, the model can accelerate from 0-100 km/h in 4.4 seconds and hit a limited top speed of 250 km/h (155 mph). Of course, the real standout feature (is) the ability to return 2.1 L/100 km (134.5 mpg UK / 112 mpg US) and travel up to 37 km (23 miles) on electricity alone.
I like the look of the concept personally, so I’m pretty interested in seeing how much carries over to the production version… (Even though I can’t afford one, of course.)