Benoit Jacob was the designer of the BMW i8 in production. 2013 Les Voiles de Saint-Tropez was followed by the 2013 International Motor Show Germany, where the production model was unveiled. The BMW M1 Homage concept car, which itself pays homage to BMW’s last mid-engined sports car in production before the i8, had a significant effect on its design.
Butterfly doors, a head-up display, rearview cameras, and partially fake engine noise were all features of the BMW i8. Customer car series production started in April 2014. The two-speed electric drivetrain was created and manufactured by GKN. As opposed to LED headlights, it was the first production vehicle using laser headlights.
The i8 had a low drag coefficient (Cd) of 0.26 and a vehicle weight of 1,485 kg (3,274 lb) (DIN kerb weight). The top speed of the BMW i8 in all-electric mode was 120 km/h. The i8 achieved a midrange acceleration from 50 to 75 mph (80 to 120 km/h) in 2.6 seconds when in Sport mode. 250 km/h was the electronically controlled peak speed.
In December 2019, one of the restricted Ultimate Sophisto Edition models, the 20,000th i8, was created. On June 11 of 2020, the final i8 left the factory. 20,465 vehicles were made in total, with 16,581 coupes and 3,884 roadsters.
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The End was Silent.
If you believe that the most recent health crisis played any role in this BMW’s demise, you are mistaken. The final year this car was produced was the 2020 model year, which concluded in April of that year. Plans had already been made, and announcements appeared to have been concealed in the introduction of additional electric and hybrid automobiles under the BMW name.
Was the i8 too far in the future for its day? Was the price tag excessive given the amount of power it generated? Did BMW merely choose the incorrect path when creating a car?
It’s far easier to answer than any of those questions since BMW is prepared to increase the number of electric and hybrid cars in its inventory, which means there isn’t room for a unicorn-like sports car. It’s unfortunate since the i8 was a fascinating automobile.
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.
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.
Production of the BMW i8 hybrid sports car will finish in April.
BMW has revealed that the i8 plug-in hybrid sports car’s production will cease the next month, almost six years after it was introduced.
The business has decided to concentrate its engineering efforts on the development of a new range of electric cars, including the iX3 compact SUV, i4 saloon, and iNext SUV flagship. As a result, the Leipzig facility in Germany will stop producing the Porsche 911 rival in the middle of April. Within the next five years, a brand-new electric sports car based on the Vision M Next concept from last year is anticipated.
Since debuting in 2014 as a coupe, the first model to represent the BMW I sub-brand has sold more than 20,000 units globally. In 2018, the model received a facelift, and the open-top BMW i8 roadster model was introduced to the lineup.
BMW commemorates the final i8 rolling off the German assembly line with 18 special models.
The quirky hybrid sports car from BMW has now reached its end of manufacturing, six years after it first appeared on our roads. The remaining 18 vehicles have been given special paint jobs designed by their owners to commemorate the milestone.
The i8 was the first of its type, including cutting-edge lightweight materials, a cutting-edge hybrid powertrain, and a look you’d expect to see on a concept car. It was unveiled at the 2013 Frankfurt Motor Show. Although its overall performance wasn’t its strongest suit, the nearly 20,000 units it sold over its career prove that it was a welcome addition to the sports car market.
The final examples, which range from Austin Yellow, which was initially spotted on the M4, to British Racing Green and Le Mans Blue, are undoubtedly stunning to behold. The degree of customization in these cars presented some significant logistical and process obstacles, but our I manufacturing unit has once again shown that nothing is impossible, according to plant director Hans-Peter Kemser.
Several components had to be hand-painted to provide a good finish due to the uniqueness of some of the specified colours. Kemser continued, “Yet again, we have demonstrated our capacity to fulfill the highly exacting standards and personal requirements of our customers with exceptional skills and one-of-a-kind solutions. We should all be extremely proud of the fact that the BMW i8 production is coming to an end with such a grand finale.
The hybrid sports car’s production is coming to an end just ahead of BMW’s all-electric effort, which is anticipated to be spearheaded by the i4 saloon that was unveiled in concept form earlier this year.
At the company’s Leipzig facility, the last i8s were handed over to their owners last week.
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.
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.
Exists a new BMW i8?
For the 2024 model year, the i8 M—or whatever name BMW chooses for its upcoming hybrid sports car—will be completely new. As we come closer to the car’s release date, which is anticipated to be somewhere in 2023 as a 2024 model, we anticipate learning more.
Has BMW stopped producing the i8?
The i8, the first plug-in hybrid model from German carmaker, was unveiled in production form at the Frankfurt auto show in 2013 and had its American debut in 2014.
The model did experience a 43% boost in sales last year on the big U.S. market, reaching 1,102 units. In Canada, where the i8 increased from a meager 18 units sold in 2018 to 264 last year, the growth was much more pronounced.
In order to focus on creating and releasing a number of new electric cars as part of its ambitious aim to market 25 electrified models by 2023, BMW is putting the i8 on hold.
The iNext SUV’s manufacturing is anticipated to start in the middle of 2021. The i4 sedan follows, with development expected to begin at the end of the same year. Following the cancellation of the Geneva Motor Show, this month saw the virtual debut of the latter model.
According to the European testing cycle, the i4 car and the iNext SUV should each have a range of about 600 km, which translates to 450–500 km in North America.
How recent is the BMW i8?
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.