Well it looks like BMW’s eco-orientated sportscar, the i8, might finally be getting the chop-top Spyder treatment. The i8 Spyder has taken quite some time to reach the market, when you consider the i8 coupe debuted in concepot form over 3 years ago – and a convertible version was nowhere to be seen. According to the latest reports from Germany, however, that’s about to change.
According to Automotive News, BMW’s new chief executive Harald Krueger told German publication Handelsblatt that we’ll soon see the BMW i8 Spyder in production form. The prospect of open-air motoring under prodigious amounts of electric power sounds enticing, however we’ll have to wait and see just what sort of roof mechanism the production model incorporates. The concept had removable roof panels, however the manufacturer tends to favor automatic roof setups – hardtops in the Z4 and 4 Series, or soft tops in the 2 Series and 6 Series.
It has also been suggested that BMW could introduce a power upgrade for the i8 range at around the same time, perhaps in the form of a larger internal combustion engine and a higher-capacity battery for the electric motor. A 2.0L turbo 4-cylinder engine could be a good replacement for the existing 3-cylinder, increasing the power output and allowing for a longer range. If these upgrades end up going ahead, expect them to be implemented on the coupe as well as the roadster.
What do you think readers? Does the idea of owning an i8 Spyder float your boat?