When an automobile is discontinued, the reason for the production halt is usually due to weak sales, which caused the BMW i8 to fail.
Being unique in the automobile industry isn’t necessarily a good thing, but BMW constructed this incredible hypercar to prove to the world that it could. It was capable of offering owners a magnificent drive, and that much is true. We can lament the loss of the i8, but at least it gave us a better idea of what we want from the BMW brand’s i-Division.
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BMW will stop producing the i8, its ultra-futuristic sports car. This is how it became the most popular vehicle of its class.
- BMW will stop making its i8 hybrid sports car in April after six years of manufacturing.
- 2014 saw the introduction of the i8, and BMW went on to sell over 20,000 vehicles. The i8 is now the most well-known sports car of its class, according to BMW.
- With butterfly doors, 374 horsepower, 420 pound-feet of torque, and a 0-to-62-mph pace of 4.4 seconds, the i8 isn’t your standard hybrid.
- An i8 is still available right now. The starting price for the coupe model is $147,500, while the price for the convertible model is $163,300.
Most people associate hybrid vehicles with boring but practical commuter vehicles like the Toyota Prius. However, the BMW i8 served as evidence that even while plug-in hybrids sip gas rather than guzzle it, they do have a place among the envious.
And in April, after six years, its reign as the upcoming sports car will come to an end.
After months of rumors of the i8’s demise, BMW officially honored it last week. It is safe to assume that the decision has nothing to do with the coronavirus epidemic because a corporate spokesman confirmed the news when it first surfaced in January.
When the i8 production line does come to an end, it will be the end of the vehicle that helped many people understand what good fuel efficiency and performance—two things that were once mutually exclusive—look like when they work together. Given the availability of the Porsche 918, Ferrari LaFerrari, and McLaren P1, it wasn’t the only hybrid sports vehicle at the time, but it was more affordable—almost pedestrian—than the others.
Thus, since the i8’s release in 2014, BMW has sold more over 20,000 units, as opposed to the seven-figure P1’s production limit of 375 vehicles. According to BMW, this makes it the best-selling vehicle of its class.
BMW ends production of the i8 super hybrid permanently.
On Thursday, the final i8 to be produced rolled out of the Leipzig BMW facility. Actually, the PHEV’s manufacturing was scheduled to stop in the middle of April. However, because of the factory’s closure due to the coronavirus outbreak, manufacturing was delayed until June.
Since manufacturing on the i8 began six years ago, exactly 20,448 vehicles have been sent from the factory. According to a press release from BMW, the final vehicle was an i8 Roadster in “Portimao Blue” and it was sold to a buyer in Germany.
The i8 was the first plug-in hybrid vehicle in the whole BMW Group when it made its debut in 2014. The hybrid sports car was never successful outside of its specialized market due to its intricate carbon body and six-figure base price. The i8 “embodies the departure into electric mobility like no other car,” according to Hans-Peter Kemser, head of the BMW plant in Leipzig. The model served as the inspiration for the current variety of plug-in hybrid vehicles.
Currently, one shift of production for the Leipzig-based BMW i3 produces 116 units per day. Hans-Peter Kemser, the plant manager, claims that if demand for e-cars in Germany increases, production of the i3 might be expanded to two shifts and thus boosted to 250 units per day.
There won’t be a straight replacement for the i8. In the interim, there have been rumors that the 2019 Vision M Next concept car may be produced in large quantities. The BMW board of directors reportedly decided against the 441 kW sports car, also against the backdrop of the Corona crisis, primarily due to “costs and the volume,” according to media reports. However, the hybrid sports car (this time with a four-cylinder petrol engine instead of the three-cylinder in the i8) did not get beyond the planning stage.
Its first hybrid vehicle would have been the Alpina i8.
In June 2020, the BMW i8’s manufacture came to an end after a little over six years. Alpina lost the opportunity to produce its first hybrid or electric vehicle by abandoning the i8 project. BMW doesn’t intend to create a precursor, but it will soon broaden its selection of hybrid vehicles, opening the door for Alpina to someday enter this market.
Since 1965, Alpina has been in business. In the beginning, the company focused on tuning BMW engines for racing, but in the 1980s it changed into an automaker. Alpina has altered several models of the BMW 3 Series, 5 Series, 7 Series, and 8 Series over the years, but it also created a limited-edition Z8 roadster variant.
Now available at BMW dealerships, Alpina models include the B7 and XB7, based on the 7 Series and X7, respectively, in the U.S. lineup.
During its lifespan, BMW produced about 20,500 units of the i8.
BMW i8 production is over, but the Germans made sure the hybrid sports vehicle made a statement by painting each of the remaining 18 units in a distinctive shade. These were colors that had never been used on the car during its entire manufacture run.
BMW claimed that producing 18 vehicles in a row in a unique color presented a hurdle. It required technicians to manually paint them. To obtain some components in the specific shade, the organization had to liaise with vendors.
It Should Come at a Heavy Price.
According to what BMW has stated, the 2024 model year BMW i8 M will go on sale in late 2023. Nobody really knows what the Vision M Next concept might lead to, but one thing is certain: it will be expensive. It will be available in two coupe and roadster models, with a starting price of about $160,000 but with room for variation.
How recent is the BMW i8?
The i8 Coupe (and the newer Roadster) are finishing their product life cycles with the 2020 model year, six years after its market debut. Both all-wheel-drive variants are propelled by a hybrid 1.5-liter three-cylinder gas engine with 228 horsepower and a hybrid synchronous electric motor from BMW. While the electric motor drives the front wheels with a two-speed automatic gearbox, the power from the engine is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed Steptronic automatic transmission. In the end, a hybrid-specific AWD system is produced. In comparison to the i8 Roadster, the i8 Coupe can reach 100 km/h in 4.4 seconds. The top speed of both variants is 250 km/h. For the i8 Coupe and i8 Roadster, the electric range is 55 km and 53 km, respectively. The aerodynamically enhanced bodywork of the two-seat Roadster has model-specific gullwing doors and a soft-top roof. The open sky or an all-season fabric soft top with enhanced soundproofing are both options for passengers inside. While the car is moving at up to 50 km/h, the electrically controlled convertible top opens and closes in less than 16 seconds.
Is there a BMW i8 for 2021?
The 2021 i8 has a single powertrain that combines a 1.5-liter three-cylinder gas engine that has been turbocharged with an 11.6-kWh battery and two electric motors. The three engines work together to provide 369 horsepower, which can drive all four wheels.
Will there be a BMW i8 in 2022?
The coronavirus epidemic delayed BMW’s plan to stop making the i8 in April 2020, delaying it to June instead. The PHEV is still listed in BMW USA’s sales chart for the first half of 2022, two years after the last vehicle—an i8 Roadster in Portimao Blue—rolled off the assembly line.
Between January and June, a total of five vehicles were sold, which is a 50% decrease from the same time last year. We wonder if the purchaser received a discount for purchasing a car that had been in a showroom for so long after BMW delivered a brand-new i8 in Q2 2022.
We’ll just remind you that the i8 wasn’t exactly inexpensive. It’s unclear whether of the five cars sold so far this year were coupes and which were roadsters. The model with the fixed roof started at just under $150,000 when it was at the end of its life cycle in the US, while the variant with the folding top cost almost $165,000 before options.
Speaking of the initial I vehicles, this week saw BMW say farewell to the i3 after producing 250,000 units over the course of nine years. Nine of the oddball hatchback’s vehicles have been delivered as of June, and it is included in the H1 2022 sales chart for North America. In the first three months of the year, they were all sold. BMW USA sold 851 cars last year.
When BMW stopped taking orders in February 2022, the tiny car was taken off the US market. Don’t be shocked if more are sold in the second half of the year because there are probably still quite a number on dealer lots.
In case you forgot, China is still home to the i3 brand. The i3 eDrive35L, a CLAR-based 3 Series Sedan EV based on the locally manufactured long-wheelbase model, is a whole distinct vehicle, though. According to a recent claim, BMW is developing a worldwide available i3 that will include an i3 Touring and be released in 2025 on the Neue Klasse platform.