Words: Shubham Choukse
The roadster model of BMW’s hybrid sportscar – i8, has been reportedly under development for a long time now, and adding to the anticipation, BMW has now released a teaser video of the car on their official Facebook page. The video features a group of camouflaged i8 roadsters running down a twisty mountain road.
The i8 coupe made its debut in 2014, since then a roadster model was highly anticipated and it has been spotted testing several times. The i8 coupe has a 7.1kWh lithium-ion battery-pack that powers an electric motor producing 127bhp of power and 250Nm of torque which works in conjunction with a 1.5-litre 3-cylinder turbo petrol motor that pumps out 225bhp of power and 320Nm of torque. The combined output is rated at 352bhp and 570Nm. It has a pure electric range of 37Km and it can accelerate from 0 to 100Kmph in just 4.4 seconds going all the way up to a top speed of 250Kmph.
Now three years down the line the i8 roadster may get an updated electric package, which means more power and longer range. Reports suggest that it will feature a new 10kWh battery-pack giving it a pure electric range of 50Km while also increasing the overall power output to 367bhp.
It is expected to make its official debut at the LA motor show 2018.