BMW designed a radical mid-engined hybrid supercar to succeed the i8, however by no means put it into manufacturing. Kept secret for 4 years and revealed solely now by BMW head designer Domagoj Dukec on social media, the placing i16 might have been the M efficiency division’s second bespoke mannequin after the 1978 M1 supercar. M division has since launched the XM super-SUV as its second bespoke product – a dramatically totally different proposition to the supercar revealed right here.

It’s a trustworthy evolution of the Vision M Next idea that BMW revealed in 2019, albeit with some refined revisions aimed toward making it road-legal. Dukec described the i16 as having “all the style of a future classic” and famous the affect of the Giorgetto Giugiaro-designed M1 in its angular, cab-forward silhouette, vented rear arches and louvred engine lid. The i16 was conceived to make use of the i8’s composite construction in a bid to chop improvement prices and thus bolster its viability as a manufacturing car, but it surely is not clear whether or not it will have used the identical plug-in hybrid powertrain.

The i8 was BMW’s first PHEV, pairing a 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine with an electrical motor on the entrance axle for a complete output of 374hp and a 0-100kph time of 4.3sec, making it a pure Porsche 911 rival. A battery within the transmission tunnel gave an electric-only vary of greater than 48km.

The i8 was produced from 2014 to 2020, being discontinued to make means for a brand new line of bespoke electrical BMW fashions, together with the iX3 and iX. The mannequin additionally went on sale in India in 2015, nevertheless, the Roadster wasn’t launched although it was showcased on the 2018 Auto Expo.

BMW i16: why it did not attain manufacturing

Dukec mentioned, “the world changed in 2020 at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic” and “work on the project unfortunately had to be stopped”. 

The Vision M Next hinted at what an i8 successor might appear like, however plans to provide it have been shelved over considerations about excessive R&D prices and low gross sales potential. However, M boss Frank van Meel hinted to our sister publication Autocar UK in 2022 that the door wasn’t completely shut to the prospect of a brand new hybrid supercar, saying: “It’s at all times one thing we will take a look at. As car guys, we’re at all times dreaming of creating such cars. It doesn’t imply we are going to make them, however we maintain exploring these concepts.”

He mentioned the cancellation of the i16 did not imply BMW was “not thinking of a super-sports car,” tellingly including that he was “always trying to figure out how it would work”.

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