Green mobility never looked this good.
The ongoing LA motor show has witnessed the arrival of a hotly anticipated new car, and a mild refresh of another that hasn’t actually done all that well in the US market. BMW has unveiled its new i8 Coupe and i8 Roadster at the event, with the latter most definitely being the greater crowd pleaser.
We’ll get to the Roadster in a minute, because we have to address the changes under the skin. Firstly, the battery pack in the i8’s hybrid powertrain has been upgraded to one with 11.6kWh of capacity, where the outgoing car had just 7kWh. And because of that, BMW were able to fit a more powerful electric motor to the drivetrain, increasing the potency that these cars possess.
Onto the important numbers: The new i8 Coupe will do the century sprint in just 4.4-seconds, and keep accelerating until 250km/h. The i8 Roadster pays a bit of a penalty, as it’ll do the century sprint a little slower, at 4.6-seconds. Top speed is identical, as is the total power figure (275kW) as is the fuel consumption figure (2.1L/100km claimed, though it’s highly unlikely).
There aren’t too many changes to the coupe, but the Roadster is definitely worth talking about. Without a roof structure to rely on, the designers at BMW had their work cut out for them in retaining the unique ‘flying buttresses’ of the i8, and have integrated them neatly in such a way that the two elements on either side appear to be linked. The rear deck is almost entirely black as well, helping to reduce visual bulk, and accentuates the exuberant design elements at play.
But that black space, from above, does look slightly like the head of a cat.
Anyway. The i8 Roadster has a fabric roof that stows away in the rear, and despite what’s usually assumed of drop-tops, the Roadster actually boasts an additional 100L of cargo space over the Coupe, thanks to a space behind the seats. Further improvements have been made to the carbon-fibre used liberally in the cars’ construction, as well as the materials employed in the cabin.
Tech has been upgraded too, with the Professional iDrive system available (with a gorgeous widescreen display), as well as the BMW Display Key (first seen on the new 5-Series), as well as Driving Assistant with 360º surround-view monitor.
No more information was offered at press time regarding pricing and further specifications, though we can expect to know more when the car goes on sale sometime in 2018. And rest assured, we will be waiting with bated breath to get behind the wheel, so stay tuned to CarShowroom as we bring you more updates as they come.
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