BMW winds up production of i8 sports car

KUALA LUMPUR: It was last year in September, when BMW quietly gave a hint that it might demise the production of its plug-in hybrid sports car. At the time, we did not know about the exact day when production of i8 would officially come to an end, but now BMW has made it public that it will cease production of i8 somewhere in April. The earlier announcement was followed by unveiling of the i8 Ultimate Sophisto special edition.

Now we know that BMW’s electrified machine is going to bow out in April.

In 2009 when the layout of i8 was prepared, BMW planned to develop a futuristic sports car with the “Concept Vision Efficient Dynamics”. Sporting an unconventional design and a356 horsepower plug-in hybrid drive, i8 was a 2+2 seater. The layout indicated that it would be a complete sensation giving driving pleasure and efficiency with its 3.7 litre/100km consumption figures.

i8 paved the way for BMW to emerge as a brand that dares to develop ecologically correct future with the help of electrified technology and carbon components. The i8 was one of the most important cars for BMW when it was launched in 2014 and became the flagship model for the automaker. i8 portrayed BMW’s ideology and vision to merge the sports car and energy-efficient vehicles. It is such a product that attracts both- sport car freaks and also environmentalists. Till date, more than 20,000 units of i8 have been sold. i8 is a featured car with both coupe and convertible body styles and is one of the best-selling electric sports cars.

This plug-in hybrid i8 became a forerunner of its outgoing lineage and as a concept featured in the fourth Mission: Impossible film, “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol”.

This decision of ceasing production of i8 is announced at a time when BMW is all prepared to welcome a new era of fully electric vehicles such as the iX3, i4, and flagship iNext SUV. The German automaker is planning to offer more than 25 electrified models by 2023, out of which more than half of them are acclaimed to be fully electric.

 

Talking about its powertrain features, BMW i8 had a three-cylinder turbodiesel engine working with an electric motor for each axle. This combination has the capacity to ignite a total output of 351 horsepower and 590 pound-feet of torque.

i8 coupe and roadster are the two most expensive models in BMW’s portfolio. i8 Coupe kicks off at $147,500 and the i8 Roadster at $163,300.

Currently, we haven’t heard of any plans from BMW to develop a sporty electric vehicle that can replace i8.

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