Demand for the BMW i8 hybrid sports car is so high that the waiting list is up to 18 months in some parts of the world. On the back of this, the German marque has revealed it could increase production of the i8 to meet the exceptionally high demand.
While speaking with Automotive News Europe about the potential to increase production, BMW sales and marketing chief Ian Robertson said, “We need to find ways to increase i8 production because the waiting lists in some markets are getting too long.”
Robertson believes that customers shouldn’t have to wait more than six months for a premium model like the i8. However, he declined to reveal just how many units of the i8 are being produced or how much further production could be lifted.
As a reminder, the BMW i8 is of course the second model from BMW’s new BMW i-Series. It is intended as a sports car and provides a forward-looking, revolutionary interpretation of BMW’s hallmark driving experience. It is a 2+2-seater with a design that BMW refer to as LifeDrive architecture. It gets a “life module” passenger cell made from carbon-fibre-reinforced plastic (CFRP), as you would expect from any premium sports car. Total weight is just 1,490 kg, bearing in mind the plug-in hybrid architecture.
The production-spec i8 was of course revealed to the public last year at the Frankfurt Auto Show with production commencing in April. The drive system utilises a brand new three-cylinder petrol engine with BMW TwinPower Turbo technology. From 1.5 litres, the i8 manages an output of 231 hp, a maximum torque of 320 Nm. Power is sent to the rear wheels via a six-speed automatic gearbox. The petrol engine is supplemented by an electric motor with an output of 131 hp and maximum torque of 250 Nm. The power from this lithium-ion high-voltage battery is channelled through the front wheels via a two-stage automatic transmission.
[Via Automotive News]
