BMW i8 Roadster launched in Malaysia for RM1,508,800

KUALA LUMPUR: BMW has added another silver lining to its model lineup for the Malaysian market. After introducing the facelifted version of the i8 Coupe over a month back, the company has brought the i8 Roadster, an open-top variant of the standard coupe.

Aesthetically, it retains the designing language of the i8 Coupe, which means, the same low-slung and aerodynamic styling are carried here. The fabric roof is another interesting element in the car, it can fold electrically in 15 seconds while at a speed of up to 50 kmph. It can be distinctly distinguished from the coupe model with the help of the silver insert on the C-pillar that has the ‘Roadster’ badge inscribed on it. It rides on the same 20-inch wheels that were given in the previous model.

The cabin of this new BMW i8 Roadster is, however, slightly different to that of the coupe counterpart. There is no second-row seat in this soft-top model. However, this loss makes way for an additional 92-litre of boot space right behind the seats.

The company has a lot of things integrated in order to keep the weight down to as much as possible. Hence, with the inclusion of carbon fiber monocoque, the weight of this model is just 60 kgs more than that of the coupe sibling, despite the addition of the entire mechanism for the folding of the roof.

Under the hood, the new BMW i8 Roadster will be powered by the same engine as earlier, which is a turbocharged 1.5-litre unit making 231 PS of power and 320 Nm of torque. The produced power will be sent down to the rear wheels via a 6-speed Aisin automatic gearbox unit.

Apart from the ICE, this i8 Roadster has an electrical engine which produces 143 PS of power. So, the combined power produced by both the systems is 374 PS, which can steer the car from a standstill to 100 kmph in just 4.6 seconds. There is a 3.6 kW battery pack for this engine which can be completely charged in under three hours on a 16-ampere socket.

The new BMW i8 Roadster gets a price tag of RM1,508,800 OTR without the insurance. This makes it RM100,000 more expensive over the hard-top coupe sibling.