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.
In This Article...
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.
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 stopped producing the i8 when?
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 (75 mph). 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 (155 mph).
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.
Has BMW ceased production of the i8?
The hybrid sports car’s conclusion of manufacturing coincides with BMW’s push toward all-electric vehicles, which is anticipated to be led by the i4 saloon, which was first shown off as a concept earlier this year. At the company’s Leipzig facility, the last i8s were handed over to their owners last week.
Will the BMW i8 go down in history?
Since it was initially introduced, the BMW i8 has been attracting attention as a cutting-edge automobile. While some people are unsure, others think it will eventually become a classic car.
Thanks to its innovative technology and distinctive form, the BMW i8 will certainly become a classic vehicle in the future. However, it will take some time before it reaches that point and is unlikely to bring in any significant profits for investors in the near future.
But why was the i8 such a unique vehicle, and how might it fare as a long-term investment?
How trustworthy is a BMW i8?
The BMW i8 was last manufactured in 2020, hence the model year 2020 would be the most recent. You’ll weigh your alternatives and select the one that best suits you.
But occasionally, you may count on a few difficulties. Most of its problems, including those listed above, can be avoided with routine servicing and maintenance.
What will take the place of i8?
Similar to the i8, the Vision M NEXT is a plug-in hybrid vehicle that blends electric and small-displacement gasoline power. With an electronic front axle and a supercharged four-cylinder engine, a total of 592 horsepower is produced. BMW claims it can reach 186 mph and accelerate from 0 to 62 mph in three seconds.
Will the i8 come back?
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.
Is Tesla faster than the BMW i8?
Still, when measured in terms of 0-60 mph, Tesla annihilates the i8. It completes the dash in roughly 3.2 seconds as opposed to 4.2 seconds for the BMW. But the BMW is unquestionably superior in several areas.
I8 is still for sale.
BMW is getting ready to bid farewell to the BMW i8 as it introduces more electrified cars as part of an ambitious electric plan. The BMW i8 was one of the models that got everything started.
In 2013, the i8 plug-in hybrid electric sports car made its debut at the German International Motor Show alongside the i3, serving as a design and engineering exercise that paved the way for future electric products to bear the BMW logo.
The i8 produced a total power of 266kW and 570Nm by combining a 1.5-liter turbocharged three-cylinder engine driving the back wheels and an electric engine driving the front. In order to reduce weight, carbon fiber and aluminum were used; the i8 tipped the scales at 1485kg.
BMW Australia received the i8 in 2014, however local sales there only made up 155 of the total worldwide sales.
“[The i8] provided the groundwork for the extensive range of plug-in hybrid cars offered by the BMW Group.”
The final 200 BMW i8s made at the Leipzig facility will be restricted Ultimate Sophisto Editions when production of the car ends in April of this year.
There is still a small amount of i8 stock in the nation, and there has been interest in the remaining vehicles, according to BMW Australia.
BMW will keep producing its lineup of hybrid and electric vehicles, which currently includes the iNext, i1, ix3, i4, i6, and a spied i7.