If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Perhaps that is BMW's new philosophy regarding spy photos and videos of impending BMW models still in development, but getting closer to official launch. Earlier this year, BMW not only teased us with pictures of the not-yet-released 2018 BMW M5 still in camouflage, but actually ran demo laps of the disguised super sedan at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Now BMW is doing it again with still photos and videos of the BMW i8 Roadster.
The long-promised and soon-to-be-delivered convertible version of the BMW i8 plug-in hybrid sports car has been showing up in spy photos for a few months now, still dressed in the black and white camouflage that BMW i seems to have adopted for its new and revised i3 and i8. Both of these innovative models are due for a Life Cycle Impulse (LCI), or mid-life facelift, in 2018.
The Roadster version of the BMW i8 Coupe will receive all the technological improvements planned for the Coupe's LCI, which are believed to include a more powerful drivetrain and improved electric-only range. Yet to be revealed are technical details of the i8 Roadster's top that presumably folds into the redesigned rear somehow, which will be quite the trick given the dearth of cargo space in the i8 Coupe. The absence of rear seats in the Roadster may hold the secret of where to put the roof.
It has been five years since BMW unveiled the i8 Spyder Concept and about a year and a half since BMW AG Chairman Harald Krüger officially announced the i8 Roadster, so BMW enthusiasts might be excused for growing impatient waiting for the real thing. We hope that BMW i is planning an official launch at the Frankfurt International Motor Show during the third week in September.
Meanwhile, we have the teasers that BMW so thoughtfully provided, including this video of a passel of i8 Roadsters and one Coupe on test tracks and mountain roads. Enjoy.—Scott Blazey
[Photos courtesy of BMW AG. Video courtesy of BMW AG via Bimmerpost.]
