The BMW i8 roadster is on course to arrive in 2018 as part of a mid-life facelift for the model range. The drop-top hybrid’s development has long been rumoured, but company CEO Harald Krueger confirmed its launch year to our sister publication Autocar UK at the Paris motor show 2016.
BMW’s boss refrained from revealing details, but the convertible, which could adopt the BMW i8 Spyder name, is likely to be revealed along with the facelifted i8 at the end of 2017.
The roadster’s design will incorporate some features of the BMW i Vision Future Interaction concept (pictured) that was at the 2016 Consumer Electronics Show (CES), including a pair of rear buttresses. Like the rest of the updated range, the i8 roadster will also adopt an upgraded petrol-electric powertrain with a more potent motor than in the existing i8.
Combined with a lightly fettled 1.5-litre three-cylinder turbo-petrol engine, the front-mounted synchronous electric motor is claimed to provide the facelifted i8 with a boost of more than 10 percent in power over today’s model, lifting the 2018 i8’s output to around 426hp.
The i8’s cabin will also be upgraded with new technology, which, like the car’s design, could take influence from CES 2016 concept and gain a more interactive infotainment system with gesture-control technology. The i8 roadster will sit above the i8 coupé in the model range.